Natural Science Forum / Physics / Acoustics / January 2006

hi all, i'm currently doing undergoing my engineering (graduation) in
computer science, but am really interested in acoustics; both
architectural and musical acoustics..... i want some suggestions as to
how i can use my branch of engg. to go into the field of acoustics....

Inside the cochlea of a human ear are hundreds of thin cilia.  Rather
like an insect's eye, which is made up of hundreds of very primitive
eyes, each cilium responds individually to the pressure variations in
the cochlear fluid caused by sounds, contributing its own primitive

Sometimes I set up a sound level meter(Rion) as Leq , A weighting ,
Slow(time constant) , measuring time 10sec.
When Leq (A-weighting, Slow, 10sec) and Lp (A-weighting, Slow, 10 sec
average) results are compared, are they same?

Hey All,
I'm sure this has been discussed before (a Google search didn't term up
anything relevant), but is there a rule-of-thumb for the usage of the
word "acoustic" vs "acoustical"?

I'm trying to help my father reduce the road noise that has plagued him for years. He lives on a pretty major route and the noise from constant traffic never seems to stop. The house is a good 70 yard from the road and their is a lot of brush and pine trees, but the noise comes ...

Lets try again.
Ari Karjalainen wrote:

    Are decibels an absolute measurement, like feet, or seconds, or
are they just ratios?
How would I measure decibels?
Thanks...

Does any one know the origin of ball bearing "squeal".
I have an ancient bench grinder that now makes a prolonged squeal as it
winds down after being shut off.
I have no idea what is the cause, nor do I have any idea as to how to