Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics

Blackstock, David T.

1. Edition July 2000
576 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd

ISBN: 978-0-471-31979-5

John Wiley & Sons

Further versions

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.

Detailed Development of the Acoustical Wave Equation.

Reflection and Transmission of Normally Incident Plane Waves of
Arbitrary Waveform.

Normal Incidence Continued: Steady-State Analysis.

Transmission Phenomena: Oblique Incidence.

Normal Modes in Cartesian Coordinates: Strings, Membranes, Rooms,
and Rectangular Waveguides.

Horns.

Propagation in Stratified Media.

Propagation in Dissipative Fluids: Absorption and Dispersion.

Spherical Waves.

Cylindrical Waves.

Waveguides.

Radiation from a Baffled Piston.

Diffraction.

Arrays.

Appendices.

Index.

"This book is an excellent piece of work. The text is extremely clear and goes a long way towards meeting the declared pedagogical target. The author has written a comprehensive text. The proportions of the equations and explanations/interpretations are particularly well balanced. Throughout the book, the context and the validity domain for any equation derived are clearly stated. No doubt this book will be of invaluable help for students, academics, and engineers." (Applied Acoustics, March 2002)

DAVID T. BLACKSTOCK is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a past president of the Acoustical Society of America and has been awarded its Gold Medal.

D. T. Blackstock, University of Texas, Austin, Texas