This program utilizes microcomputers to measure and record time- resolved acoustical signals and to model standing and propagating acoustic waves in real physical systems. New laboratory experiments and simulations are being developed for two acoustics courses open to non-science-majors, entitled Musical Acoustics and Physics of Electronic Sound. The new equipment includes six microcomputers with sound cards, a networked laser printer, and six computer-interfaced, digitally synthesized function generators. In laboratory experiments, steady-state and transient sound signals are recorded and analyzed with microcomputers. Software is being developed to calculate and display wave oscillations in simulations of real physical significance, such as standing waves inside wind instruments and mechanical vibrations of strings and membranes. Sophisticated function generators are interfaced to microcomputers to facilitate frequency-dependence measurements, such as tests of loudspeakers and amplifier response. The program extends a highly successful introductory acoustics laboratory that incorporated fast Fourier transform spectrum analyzers to frequency analyze musical sounds. Students can benefit from the ability to study with equal precision and accuracy important acoustical phenomena from the complementary perspectives of time and frequency.
