Sound: A Very Short Introduction

by Mike Goldsmith

Overview

Sound is integral to how we experience the world, in the form of noise as well as music. But what is sound? What is the physical basis of pitch and harmony? And how are sound waves exploited in musical instruments? In this Very Short Introduction Mike Goldsmith looks at the science of sound and explores sound in different contexts, covering the audible and inaudible, sound underground and underwater, accoustic and electric, and hearing in humans and animals. He also considers the problem of sound out of place - noise and its reduction. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191018084
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	12/10/2015
Series:	Very Short Introductions
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Mike Goldsmith is a freelance acoustician and science writer and the former Head of Acoustics at the National Physical Laboratory. He has worked in the field of acoustics for over 25 years and has written almost 40 papers, articles and reports about many aspects of sound, including speech, sound quality and the history of acoustics. His previous publications include Discord: The Story of Noise (OUP, 2012) as well as over forty children's science books.

Table of Contents

1. Past sounds
2. The nature of sound
3. Sounds in harmony
4. Hearing sound
5. Electronic sound
6. Ultrasound and infrasound
7. Sound underwater and underground
8. Sound out of place
Further reading
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Wow! This book is nice...and cute...I highly recommend this book. Perhaps this is the best general book discussing "acoustics" in a very elementary sense." - Richard J. Peppin, Rion Co. Ltd. and Engineers for Change, Inc.

"The book has something for everyone, and the author has done a remarkable job in assembling so much information and condensing it into a truly pocket-size edition. I do not know of another title that covers so much about sound in a nontechnical yet scientific manner." - Michael Greenfield, Physics Today

"Sound: A Very Short Introduction contains an excellent balance of science and story, and illuminates the reader about many facets of this broad topic." — Ray Eddy, H-Podcast

From the Publisher