Discord
Subtitle: the story of noise
By: Mike Goldsmith.
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Oxford
Language: eng
Number of pages: 317
ISBN-13: 9780199600687
Subjects: Sound; Buller; Noise; Environmental Exposure; Noise pollution; Environmental Pollution; Lärmbelastung; Historia; Noise control; Adverse effects; Prevention & control; Sounds; Ljud; Lärm
Other titles: Story of noise
Description: Noise is a widely recognized problem and health concern in the modern world. Given the importance of managing noise levels and developing suitable "soundscapes" in contexts such as industry, schools, or public spaces, this is an area of active research for acousticians. But noise, in the sense of dissonance, can also be used positively; composers have employed it from Baroque music to Rock feedback; medicine harnesses it to shatter kidney stones and treat cancer; and even the military usesit in (real and rumoured) weapons. Mike Goldsmith looks back at the long history of the battle between people and noise - a battle that has changed our lives and moulded our societies. He investigates how increasing noise levels relate to human progress, from the clatter of wheels on cobbles to the sound of heavy machinery; he explains how our scientific understanding of sound and hearing has developed; and he looks at noise in nature, including the remarkable ways in which some animals, suchas shrimps, use noise as a weapon or to catch prey. He concludes by turning to the future, discussing the noise sources which are likely to dominate it and the ways in which new science and new ideas may change the way our future will sound.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The nature of noise; title: A silent bang; title: Classical noise; title: New noise; title: A new science of sound; title: Noise in the eighteenth century; title: Machineries of noise; title: The first champions of silence; title: The noise century; title: Noise in wartime; title: A time of peace?; title: A different kind of war; title: A new beginning?; title: The power of science; title: A new pollution; title: Noise now; title: A quieter tomorrow?