Physical acoustics

This review follows the chapter-by-chapter organization of Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics by D. T. Blackstock. Chapters 13 and 14 are combined into a collective section on diffraction, for which M. F. Hamilton's lecture notes are the primary reference. Some content comes from the Feynman Lectures (Volume I, chapters 47-52) and A. D. Pierce's Acoustics: An Introduction to Its Physical Principles and Applications. Concepts and problems I find challenging are denoted by the "☸" symbol. Note to self: when studying, resist the urge to view the answer before working out the problem yourself!

  1. What is a wave?
  2. Detailed development of the acoustic wave equation
  3. Reflection and transmission for normal incidence
  4. Impedance tubes and \(k\ell\ll 1\) impedances
  5. \(R\)-\(T\) for oblique incidence
  6. Normal modes in Cartesian coordinates
  7. Horns
  8. Sound in stratified media
  9. Absorption and dispersion
  10. Spherical waves
  11. Cylindrical waves
  12. Waveguides
  13. Diffraction
  14. Arrays

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