While listening to a radio or your home stereo, have you ever stopped to think .
of how many fundamentals of science are involved in the music that you are .
hearing? Sound is a form of energy that can be fou.
nd all around us. Whether attending a live concert or sitting in a quiet .
library, sound is always present and always has an affect on both your mental .
and physical state. As defined in the American Heritage Dictionary, sound is .
ldblquote .
A vibratory disturbance in any medium, with audible frequency in the .
approximate range between 20 and 20,000 hertz. It is capable of being detected .
by the organs of hearing.
dblquote (ldblquote Sound.
dblquote .
). When we speak or listen, messages are being sent and received by sound .
vibrations traveling through the air (ldblquote Music and Computers, 1.1 What .
is Sound?.
dblquote .
par 1). Sound also aids in our experience of different emotions. Familiar .
sounds such as explosions warn us of danger, just as the calm ocean can relax .
or comfort us. In either case, sound is one of the .
most important forms of energy in the world. Now, having proclaimed all of .
this, you may have a better understanding of why the study of sound is .
important. Without acoustics, many things such as home theater systems and .
extreme clarity loudspeakers would.
.
not be possible. In order to design such high fidelity sound systems, you .
should possess knowledge in a variety of important areas such as acoustics and .
electronics. To have the ability to design and construct a quality loudspeaker .
system you must have th.
e knowledge in the three following main areas: the theory behind acoustics, how .
a loudspeaker functions, and characteristics of a loudspeaker.
par In order to gain an understanding of acoustics it is useful to begin with .
the human ear and how it functions. Soun.
d is always present, but you must have something that can detect the sound. The .
human ear is a very important part of our body and without it, detecting and .