Acoustics/ Ultrasonics

Bert Auld's book is a classic.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
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uick

We used Kinsler and Frey for acoustics -- it would be OK for self- study. Olsen is pretty dated, as Leo Beranek would be.

ck

Thanks Phil, I'm not sure I want the 'classic'. In the (E&M) Jacksonian sense. (Unless its a good read too.) A nice intermediate text or even better a 'freshman' text written by a master, (Purcell, Berkley series or Fenyman vol. II, sticking with the E&M analogy.) would be ideal.

George H.

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Thanks, Dated is not bad if it's well written.

I was about to say, "How much has acoustics changed since 1957?" But then I'd really like to do an Acousto-optic modulator. Is that covered in Olsen? (maybe that's a whole 'nother text?)

George H.

I've got the 1957 edition of Acoustical Engineering but I don't recommend it because it uses cgs units which is a total PITA. Otherwise it's a good book.

I've got a 1954 edition of Acoustics by Leo Beranek, Amazon have a 1986 edition. Its a similar, but less comprehensive, book but is in SI units.

If you can wait until August he has a new one out "Acoustics: Sound Fields and Transducers" co-written with Tim Mellow. (Beranek must be about a million years old by now so I bet Mellow did all the work !)

The Blackstock book doesn't look bad.

Michael Kellett

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Not back then.

In that case, you want Blackstock.

I was a "student observer" in Dr. Blackstock's lab at the University of Rochester in 1968, taking measurements on two shock wave experiments and observing two other nonlinear acoustics experiments he was conducting. He moved back to Texas shortly after, and I next saw him in 1998 IIRC while he was in Rochester area consulting with a manufacturer of acoustic kidney stone fracturing equipment. Kidney stones were fracturing at a lower energy than predicted by theory, and they were trying to figure out what was wrong with the theory, and he mentioned that he was finishing a book which was to be the summation of a lifetime of teaching acoustics.

I pre-ordered the book before publication and haven't read any reviews, but I did read the book. If you want a good idea of the state of most other acoustic tests and worse yet the coverage of acoustics in physics textbooks, take a look at the "Speed of Sound" wikipedia page; it starts out presenting the isothermal wave equation as "the wave equation", as if all waves can be described by one equation, then presents the linearized approximation of the adiabatic (lossless) wave equation for an ideal gas as if it differed from "the wave equation" because of some unspecified properties of real gasses, continuing with complete nonsense ("only plane waves are supported") and unexplained phenomena (mention of higher than predicted speeds for low pressures and high frequencies omits mention of violation of mean free path much shorter than wavelength assumption in derivation of wave equation). All backed up by dozens of references.

Blackstock is the *only* English language acoustics textbook which starts with the derivation of the lossless wave equation for sound in an ideal gas from basic principles of continuity, conservation and thermodynamics, with all assumptions clearly explained and justified, leaving the reader with a solid understanding of when the linear approximation is valid and when it is not. "Nonlinear Acoustics", edited by Blackstock and Hamilton, takes this same start in the direction of applications where nonlinearity is important, while "Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics" focuses primarily on linear acoustics. They are both "a good read" too.

For more specialized information on ultrasound I suggest joining the Acoustical Society of America for free online access to journal articles:

(Try a journal article search on "Blackstock".)

If you are looking for a good historical summary of work in sound recording. reinforcement and reproduction up to the mid 1950's, then Olson is the book for you - otherwise not.

If your interest is primarily in sound in solids, Auld might be your best bet - otherwise not. No doubt other books are useful for specific areas of ultrasound, but I have no experience there.

Regards, Glen

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The OP seems to be looking for a quick study, not mathematical rigor. Unless he solves differential equations on a daily basis he might want to start with something more simpler, like Porges' Applied Acoustics:

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Thanks Glen, Unfortunately the local university library didn't have Blackstock's text. I was planning on camping out in the stacks, and picking through the shelves. But there was some construction going on and I could only order books. I came away with the two volumes by Auld, Graff, and Fundamentals of Ultrasonics by Blitz. (That should keep me off the streets for a while.)

George H.

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No the math is fine. Auld would be great for a course, (I think I'd re-learn a bunch of E&M too.) but it is a bit thick going on my own. Blitz is just about right.

George H.

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There's one in every crowd, I guess :)

Ninety percent of all math I use on the job is algebra.

I looked at what classes I could find at the Penn State acoustics department. They were one of the few schools to specialize in acoustics, and got a lot of sonar work for the Navy in consequence, so I thought it would be reasonable to see which texts they used.

They still use Kinsler and Frey for the intro courses. Searching on "Blackstock" turns up his Nonlinear Acoustics text for the course of the same name. I don't know what they use for Theoretical Acoustics. They have no course labeled "Ultrasonics."