David T. Blackstock’s Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics

Abstract

One can hardly imagine that a book, written on a subject as complicated as physical acoustics, could serve as both an introductory text for beginning students and a serious reference for experts. Fundamentals of Physical Acoustics by David T. Blackstock is one such book. Nearly 40 years in the making, the book has its roots in the class notes that Blackstock had written for courses on acoustics throughout his academic career. Sitting in his Acoustics I course as a first-year graduate student at University of Texas at Austin in 1994, I was (gratefully in retrospect) one of those many guinea pigs whom Professor Blackstock tested his manuscript on. What came out of this long and arduous journey is a book that is not only battle tested and combat proven, but also praised nowadays as a modern classic in physical acoustics literature. In this talk, I share my experience with this book, now as a professor who has used the book for graduate-level acoustics courses for the last 14 years. Its pedagogical philosophy, unique structure, real-world drawn problems, adaptability to a MOOC (massive open online course), and last but not least, his lucid and elegant writing style will be highlighted.