Dictionary Of Acoustics

The science and technology of acoustics embraces an unusually wide range of disciplines, from aircraft noise reduction to ultrasonics in medicine and from psychoacoustics to signal processing. The student of acoustics has to become familiar with a corresponding range of specialist terms in order to communicate with others and to understand the literature. Here, in one informative dictionary, for the first time, are listed accurate and helpful definitions to provide the student - or the specialist from another discipline - with a point of entry into the world of acoustics. The dictionary's 2800 entries cover most of the essential concepts and terminology that the practising acoustician needs to understand, outside the subfields of music and speech communication. The author has drawn on experience gained during a long career spent mostly at Southampton University's multidisciplinary Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, supplemented by the expertise and perspective of a team of subject specialists. Dictionary of Acoustics is: - broad-ranging and comprehensive, covering all areas of fundamental acoustics (except terms specific to music and speech) - multi-level in its appeal: a reference source that can be used by undergraduates as well as Ph.D.-level researchers, practitioners and consultants - informative, with extended definitions of important concepts and a bibliography pointing to sources for further study - easy to use: all entries are arranged alphabetically and are thoroughly cross-referenced - supplemented with mathematical foundations and equations to add depth to definitions - written in consultation with 15 advisors on special topics and reviewed by acousticians of international standing.