What does it mean the term acoustics and distinction of the main types that study the multiple aspects found in many practical areas.
Meaning of acoustics
It is defined as a science that studies sound, commonly understood both as a physical agent, having the ability to stimulate the human ear, and as an objective sensation in which, at the brain level, the sound stimulus is translated into well-defined signals.
Physical acoustics is concerned with studying, at a theoretical and experimental level, the set of phenomena relating to the production, planning and detection of acoustic waves, which include all audible sounds, ultrasounds and infrasounds.
The sounds that are defined as audible are generated by oscillations with frequencies between 20 and 20000 Hz. Above the 20,000 Hz threshold one enters the field of ultrasound, while below 20 Hz one speaks of infrasound.
Physiological acoustics deals with the functioning of the ear, the way in which this organ manages to transform the acoustic waves, from which it is stimulated, into electrical impulses of a nervous nature that are directed to the brain.
Musical acoustics, on the other hand, study musical sounds in both their physical and psychophysical characteristics, for this reason it is closely connected to physical acoustics, one of its main research areas is that of establishing what characteristics the acoustic oscillations must have, especially in terms of mathematical ratios between the frequencies, so that a specific musical culture is placed in a position to be considered satisfactory for their specific area.
