What do you think?
Rate this book
Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics
AN AUTHORITATIIVE, UP-TO-DATE INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL ACOUSTICS
Easy to read and understand, Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics fills a long-standing need for an acoustics text that challenges but does not overpower graduate students in engineering and physics. Mathematical results and physical explanations go hand in hand, and a unique feature of the book is the balance it strikes between time-domain and frequency-domain presentations.
Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics is intended for a two-semester, first-year graduate course, but is also suitable for advanced undergraduates. Emphasis on plane waves in the first part of the book keeps the mathematics simple yet accommodates a broad range of topics: propagation, reflection and transmission, normal modes and simple waveguides for rectilinear geometries, horns, inhomogeneous media, and sound absorption and dispersion.
The second part of the book is devoted to a more rigorous development of the wave equation, spherical and cylindrical waves (including the more advanced mathematics required), advanced waveguides, baffled piston radiation, diffraction (treated in the time domain), and arrays. Applications and examples are drawn from:
* Atmospheric acoustics
* Noise control
* Underwater acoustics
* Engineering acoustics
* Acoustical measurements
Supplemented with more than 300 graphs and figures as well as copious end-of-chapter problems, Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics is also an excellent professional reference for engineers and scientists.
Easy to read and understand, Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics fills a long-standing need for an acoustics text that challenges but does not overpower graduate students in engineering and physics. Mathematical results and physical explanations go hand in hand, and a unique feature of the book is the balance it strikes between time-domain and frequency-domain presentations.
Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics is intended for a two-semester, first-year graduate course, but is also suitable for advanced undergraduates. Emphasis on plane waves in the first part of the book keeps the mathematics simple yet accommodates a broad range of topics: propagation, reflection and transmission, normal modes and simple waveguides for rectilinear geometries, horns, inhomogeneous media, and sound absorption and dispersion.
The second part of the book is devoted to a more rigorous development of the wave equation, spherical and cylindrical waves (including the more advanced mathematics required), advanced waveguides, baffled piston radiation, diffraction (treated in the time domain), and arrays. Applications and examples are drawn from:
* Atmospheric acoustics
* Noise control
* Underwater acoustics
* Engineering acoustics
* Acoustical measurements
Supplemented with more than 300 graphs and figures as well as copious end-of-chapter problems, Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics is also an excellent professional reference for engineers and scientists.
576 pages, Hardcover
First published February 22, 2000
2 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 31, 2025
Fantastic first chapter, not enough physical interpretation later on. Still pretty useful in moments. And the first chapter is fantastic.
February 1, 2012
Love it, especially since it's so hard to find a good book with basics that is not telling tale-tells but also not omitting to explain assumptions and "take-for-granted" stuff! I found reasonable answers to questions such as why frequency domain so often, when exactly can i assume time-harmonic motion and when do i need a complete Fourier transform, and some more (so far)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews