Glossary
What is sound diffraction? Definition and examples
Sound diffraction
Sound waves do not always travel in a straight line, due to the process of diffraction. Sound diffraction refers to
What is psychoacoustics? Definition and examples
Psychoacoustics
Because the experience of sound is so much related to mental perception and processing, studying our hearing has to take
What is ecomusicology? Definition and examples
ecomusicology
Ecomusicology addresses music and sound in relation to ecology and the environment, via music, culture, and nature. The term melds
What is acoustemology? Definition and examples
acoustemology
‘Acoustemology’ combines the words ‘acoustic’ and ‘epistemology’, with acoustic referring to sound and hearing and epistemology to the philosophical study
What is frequency? Definition and examples
frequency
In relation to sound, frequency is a measure of how many sound waves pass a point during a particular span
What are soundwaves? Definition and examples
soundwaves
From a human perspective, sound is received via the ears and then interpreted by the brain. Sound reaches the ears
What does binaural mean? Definition and examples
binaural
At its simplest, as a combination of the Latin bini (“twofold” or “two apiece”) and aural (“pertaining to both ears”),
What is bioacoustics? Definition and examples
bioacoustics
The study of animals’ (including humans’) production, transmission, and reception of sounds, bioacoustics is a cross-disciplinary science combining biology and
What is transonic? Definition and examples
Transonic
Transonic (also ‘transsonic’) relates to travel at speeds just below the speed of sound in air (typically between 768 mph
What is sonic biomimicry? Definition and examples
Sonic biomimicry
Biomimicry is a design technique which draws on strategies found in nature and uses them to solve design challenges in
What is ecoacoustics? Definition and examples
Ecoacoustics
Also known as acoustic ecology or soundscape studies, the emerging interdisciplinary science of ecoacoustics studies biophonic, geophonic, and anthropophonic sounds
What is noise pollution? Definition and examples
Noise pollution
Human-made sound – anthropophony – comprises both ‘controlled’ sounds (such as vocalizations, speech, and music) and uncontrolled sounds (such as
What is acoustic aposematism? Definition and examples
Acoustic aposematism
what acoustic aposematism means: In the natural world, aposematism refers to traits which have developed evolutionarily in organisms to prevent
What is ecofluency? Definition and examples
Ecofluency
what ecofluency means: defined by Dr Saskia von Diest in 2019 as “the ability to fluidly […] converse with more-than-human
What is biophilia? Definition and examples
Biophilia
what biophilia means: a concept originated by social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, and philosopher Erich Fromm to describe a psychological attraction
What is spectrogram? Definition and examples
Spectrogram
what spectrogram means: a spectrogram visually represents the frequency and amplitude (the distance between the top and the bottom of a
What is echolocation? Definition and examples
Echolocation
what echolocation means: a biological form of sonar, this process uses sound waves reflected back to the emitter (ie, echoes) to
What is soundscape? Definition and examples
Soundscape
what soundscape means: the sonic environment of any particular environment, made up of the array of noises audible there. Soundscapes
What is geophony? Definition and examples
Geophony
what geophony means: non-biological ambient sounds generated by the natural world – for example, the sounds of wind, rain, thunder,
What is biophony? Definition and examples
Biophony
what does biophony mean? the sounds generated by non-human organisms in a specific biome. This term is derived from ‘the