MODULE 2: ACOUSTICS FUNDAMENTALS

Acoustics

Branch of physics dealing with sound production, control, transmission, reception, and effects

Architectural acoustics

Study of sound in the built environment

Environmental acoustics

Study of sound in specific spaces, including both indoor and outdoor environments

Sound

Wave motion in air or other elastic media that stimulates the sensation of hearing

Alexander Graham Bell

Inventor of the telephone

Sound wave

Longitudinal pressure wave in air or another medium that produces an audible sensation

Wavelength

Distance between two corresponding points on a wave

Amplitude

Maximum deviation of a wave from its average value

Frequency

Number of cycles per unit time of a wave

Hertz

SI unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per second

Bass

Low-frequency sound

Treble

High-frequency sound, easiest to capture

Midrange

Sound with frequencies between bass and treble

Decibel

A unit of measurement used to quantify the intensity of sound, originally designed to relate sound intensity to the level that corresponds to human sensation.

Diffraction

Bending of the travel of sound caused by an obstacle in its path; spreading out of waves beyond small openings.

Reflection

Resultant sound energy returned from a surface that is not absorbed or otherwise dissipated upon contact with the surface.