What is acoustics?

In ancient times

Akoustikos in old Greek means:

For hearing
Akoustos
Can be heard
Is audible
Akouo
I hear

The Latin synonym is sonics
A branche of modern acoustic studies

All those who studied ancient literature
Or visited ancient archeological sites
Will remember the beauty of acoustics
In old amphitheatres of Rome and Greece
Based on architectural acoustics
They used rocks and curves to amplify or echo sound
making a place perfect for music and theatre

In modern science it is the interdiciplinar study of mechanical waves.
Whether it be in solids, liquids or gas.
It includes sound, ultrasound, infrasound and vibration.

Ultrasounds and infrasounds are beyond our hearing.
Their frequencies (the vibration of movement)
Are above or below audible ranges.
Some animals however do hear them and emit those sounds

Modern applications are many
In music, architecture, aerospace,
audio waves, speechs and sound

Remember sound is an auditory sensation
and acoustics do amplify or echo the sounds
of speech and music.

The earliest known study of acoustic
Was done by Pythagoras
the greek philosopher and mathematician 

Soon followed by two other monuments of antiquity
Aristotle, defining sound as a wave motion
And the roman engineer and architect Vitrivius
Writing on the acoustic properties of ancient theaters.

And Today?

Acoustics as defined by ANSI/ASA S1.1-2013  is

“(a) the Science of sound, including its production, transmission, and effects, including biological and psychological effects.
(b) Those qualities of a room that, together, determine its character with respect to auditory effects.”

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