Research and scientific progress are based upqn intuition coordinated with a wide theoretical knowledge, experimental skill, and a realistic sense of the limitations of technology. Only a deep insight into physical phenomena will supply the necessary skills to handle the problems that arise in acoustics. The acoustician today needs to be well acquainted with mathematics, dynamics, hydrodynamics, and physics; he also needs a good knowledge of statistics, signal processing, electrical theory, and of many other specialized subjects. Acquiring this background is a laborious task and would require the study of many different books. It is the goal of this volume to present this background in as thorough and readable a manner as possible so that the reader may turn to specialized publications or chapters of other books for further information without having to start at the preliminaries. In trying to accomplish this goal, mathematics serves only as a tool; the better our understanding of a physical phenomenon, the less mathematics is needed and the shorter and more concise are our computa tions. A word about the choice of subjects for this volume will be helpful to the reader. Even scientists of high standing are frequently not acquainted with the fundamentals needed in the field of acoustics. Chapters I to IX are devoted to these fundamentals. After studying Chapter I, which dis cusses the units and their relationships, the reader should have no difficulty converting from one system of units to any other.

Mechanics of Underwater Noise elucidates the basic mechanisms by which noise is generated, transmitted by structures and radiated into the sea. Organized into 10 chapters, this book begins with a description of noise, decibels and levels, significance of spectra, and passive sonar equation. Subsequent chapters discuss sound waves in liquids; acoustic radiation fundamentals; wind-generated ocean ambient noise; vibration isolation and structural damping; and radiation by plate flexural vibrations. Other chapters address cavitation, propeller cavitation noise, radiation by fluctuating-force (dipole) sources, and mechanical noise sources. This book will be helpful as a self-education text and as a reference for workers in the field.