P r e f a c e.

With so many recent expansions of human knowledge and improvements in the presentation of the same, acoustics original: "Akustik"; the branch of physics concerned with the properties of sound has suffered the undeserved fate of being treated far more deficiently than other parts of natural history original: "Naturkunde"; a term then used to encompass the natural sciences. Excellent treatises on individual acoustic subjects can be found scattered throughout the writings of learned societies, but for the most part, these have either been completely ignored or have not been put to proper use; furthermore, there is not yet a single even mediocre work available covering the entirety of acoustics. Also, a multitude of deeply rooted prejudices—of which more will be said hereafter—have greatly hindered further progress in this branch of physics. In the present work, I have endeavored to present acoustics as generally as possible, making use of everything discovered herein by others and by myself. In order to be understandable even to those readers who have only limited prior knowledge of physics and mathematics, only the results of very difficult investigations have been provided; however, for those who wish to inform themselves even more precisely, the sources from which further instruction can be drawn are indicated at every opportunity. Writings that contain much that is incorrect I mention mostly only to warn others, so that they might not be led by the name of a man otherwise deserving of credit in science original: "Wissenschaft" to accept something false as true; but where this is not to be feared, and no other reasons make it necessary, I mention such writ-