Acoustics is a branch of physics. However it has wide connections with engineering such as mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, ocean engineering, civil engineering, and geophysical engineering.
Usually people would think of acoustics as engineering rather than physics. Acoustics is a huge and broad field and can be divided into many subfields:
- audio and electroacoustics,
- speech and hearing,
- noise and vibration,
- industrial and biomedical ultrasonics,
- infrasonics,
- nonlinear and physical acoustics,
- underwater acoustics,
- musical acoustics,
- building and architectural acoustics.
The applications of acoustics are broad and important, such as
- nondestructive evaluation,
- materials research,
- study of cavitation,
- medical ultrasound imaging,
- application of ultrasound to drug delivery and gene therapy,
- sonars,
- geophysical exploration and seismic studies,
- noise and vibration control,
- acoustical designs of theatres and opera houses.