Acoustics is a branch of physics that studies sound, or more precisely, mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids.

It is concerned with the production, control, transmission, reception, and effects of sound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is called an acoustician. The application of acoustics in technology is called acoustical engineering. There is often much overlap and interaction between the interests of acousticians and acoustical engineers. Knowledge gained through the field of acoustics has had great significance for applications related to artistic expression. The development of acoustic technology has also been important in the study of geologic, atmospheric, and underwater phenomena. In addition, ultrasound technology has led to important developments in medicine The word acoustic is derived from the ancient Greek word , meaning able to be heard
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The study of acoustics has been fundamental to many developments in the performing arts. Many of the principles of acoustics, especially in the area of musical scales and instruments, were explained theoretically by scientists only after long years of experimentation by artists. For example, much of what is now known about architectural acoustics was learned by trial and error over centuries of experience and only recently formalized into a science. From a scientific viewpoint, sound waves are a form of mechanical vibrations (or mechanical waves). When the ear receives these waves, the signals are transmitted to the brain, which interprets them as sound. The study of sound waves led to the discovery of physical principles that can be applied to the behavior of all mechanical waves. Acoustics, therefore, involves the study of mechanical vibrations in general and the potential applications of the knowledge gained in modern life. [A]coustics is characterized by its reliance on combinations of physical principles drawn from other sources; and that the primary task of modern physical acoustics is to effect a fusion of the principles normally adhering to other sciences into a coherent basis for understanding, measuring, controlling, and using the whole gamut of vibrational phenomena in any material.

Applications As noted earlier, the study of acoustics has been of fundamental importance for developments in the arts. Other applications of acoustics technology are in the study of geologic, atmospheric, and underwater phenomena. Psychoacoustics, the study of the physical effects of sound on biological systems, has been of interest since Pythagoras first heard the sounds of vibrating strings and hammers hitting anvils in the sixth century B.C.E. However, the application of modern ultrasonic technology has only recently provided some of the most exciting developments in medicine. Daniel Statnekov and others have recently been studying the effects of sound on the human brain. Harmonic frequencies in the form of binaural beats can effect the brainwave patterns of a person who plays an ancient Peruvian Whistling Pot to create a "trance state."

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Acoustics

Sub-disciplines of acoustics
The following are the main subdisciplines of acoustics.[1]    Acoustical measurements and instrumentation: The measurement of various parameters, including sound pressure, velocity, frequency, intensity, phase, and distortion. Acoustic signal processing: The detection, classification, imaging, and processing of acoustic signals. Aeroacoustics: The study of aerodynamic sound, generated when a fluid flow interacts with a solid surface or with another flow. It has particular application to aeronautics, examples being the study of sound made by flying jets and the physics of shock waves (sonic booms). Architectural acoustics: The study of how sound and buildings interact, including the behavior of sound in concert halls, auditoriums, office buildings, factories, and homes. Bioacoustics: The study of the use of sound by animals such as whales, dolphins, and bats. Biomedical acoustics: The study of the use of sound in medicine, for example the use of ultrasound for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Environmental noise: The study of the sound propagation in the human environment, noise health effects, and noise mitigation analysis. Psychoacoustics (psychological acoustics): The study of how people react to sound, hearing, perception, and sound localization. Physiological acoustics: The study of the mechanical, electrical and biochemical function of hearing in living organisms. Physical acoustics: The study of the detailed interaction of sound with materials and fluids and includes, for example, sonoluminescence (the emission of light by bubbles in a liquid excited by sound) and thermoacoustics (the interaction of sound and heat). Speech communication: The study of how speech is produced, the analysis of speech signals and the properties of speech transmission, storage, recognition and enhancement. Structural acoustics and vibration: The study of how sound and mechanical structures interact; for example, the transmission of sound through walls and the radiation of sound from vehicle panels. Transduction: The study of how sound is generated and measured by loudspeakers, microphones, sonar projectors, hydrophones, ultrasonic transducers, and sensors. Ultrasonics: The study of high frequency sound, beyond the range of human hearing. Musical acoustics: The study of the physics of musical instruments. Underwater acoustics: The study of the propagation of sound in the oceans. It is closely associated with sonar research and development.

      

     

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sound

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Attributes of Sound
Pitch
Pitch represents the perceived sound a person hears. Pitch is a subjective sensation in which a listener assigns perceived tones to relative positions on a musical scale based primarily on the frequency of vibration. Meaning, the lower the fequency is the lower the pitch. The higher the frequency is the higher the pitch.

Amplitube
Loudness is the quality of a sound that is the primary psychological correlate of physical strength (amplitude). Loudness, a subjective measure, is often confused with objective measures of sound pressure such as decibelsor sound intensity.

Timbre: The Color of Music

In music, timbre (pronounced / tmb r/, like tamber, or spelling pronunciation /t mb r/) orcolor, is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices or musical instruments. Timbre is caused by the fact that each note from a musical instrument is a complex wave containing more than one frequency, overtones. For instruments that produce notes with a clear and specific pitch, the frequencies involved are part of a harmonic series.

http://funkybluesmusic.com/garygraymusic/guitarstudies1/attributes-of-sounds.html

The Theory of Sound Waves In order to understand the mechanics of ultrasonics, it is necessary to first have a basic understanding of sound waves, how they are generated and how they travel through a conducting medium. The dictionary defines sound as the transmission of vibration through an elastic medium which may be a solid, liquid, or a gas. Sound Wave Generation A sound wave is produced when a solitary or repeating displacement is generated in a sound conducting medium, such as by a shock event or vibratory movement. The displacement of air by the cone of a radio speaker is a good example of vibratory sound waves generated by mechanical movement. As the speaker

cone moves back and forth, the air in front of the cone is alternately compressed and rarefied to produce sound waves, which travel through the air until they are finally dissipated. We are probably most familiar with sound waves generated by alternating mechanical motion. There are also sound waves which are created by a single shock event. An example is thunder which is generated as air instantaneously changes volume as a result of an electrical discharge (lightning). Another example of a shock event might be the sound created as a wooden board falls with its face against a cement floor. Shock events are sources of a single compression wave which radiates from the source. The Nature of Sound Waves

The diagram above uses the coils of a spring similar to a Slinky toy to represent individual molecules of a sound conducting medium. The molecules in the medium are influenced by adjacent molecules in much the same way that the coils of the spring influence one another. The source of the sound in the model is at the left. The compression generated by the sound source as it moves propagates down the length of the spring as each adjacent coil of the spring pushes against its neighbor. It is important to note that, although the wave travels from one end of the spring to the other, the individual coils remain in their same relative positions, being displaced first one way and then the other as the sound wave passes. As a result, each coil is first part of a compression as it is pushed toward the next coil and then part of a rarefaction as it recedes from the adjacent coil. In much the same way, any point in a sound conducting medium is alternately subjected to compression and then rarefaction. At a point in the area of a compression, the pressure in the medium is positive. At a point in the area of a rarefaction, the pressure in the medium is negative.

http://www.ctgclean.com/technology-library/articles/ultrasonic-cleaning-fundamental-theory-andapplication/

http://www.clsp.jhu.edu/ws99/preliminary/acoustic.html http://www.isip.msstate.edu/~picone/ws99/spex2.pdf http://www.isip.msstate.edu/~picone/ws99/sounds2.pdf http://www.isip.msstate.edu/~picone/ws99/handout2.pdf