PHYS13068  Acoustics & Vibrations

A practically based course covering the following: Acoustic waves: wave equations, intensity, decibel scales, sound-level meters. Physiological acoustics: speech, the ear and hearing, loudness and loudness levels, sound-level meters, frequency-weighting networks, pitch, timbre, aural harmonics and combination tones, masking, hearing loss. Architectural acoustics: absorption coefficients and absorptive powers, absorption in solids and fluids, Helmholtz resonator and membranous absorbers, Sabine, Eyring, and Knudsen reverberation theories, standing-wave patterns in enclosures, echoes, flutter echoes, focusing of sound, reflection and transmission phenomena, vibrational theory, acoustic and vibrational instrumentation, noise and noise control, loudspeakers and microphones, standards. Vibrations in solids.

Text: Distance Education Study Materials, Acoustics and Vibrations. Kinsler, L.E., Frey, A.R., et al, Fundamentals of Acoustics, 3rd ed., Wiley, 1982.

References: Seto, W., Theory and Problems of Acoustics, McGraw Hill, 1971. French, A.P., Vibrations and Waves, Reinholt, 1971.