Museum of Portable Sound Press has produced its first-ever audiobook, and you can listen to it for FREE on our Bandcamp page! You can also download a copy (and if you’d like to leave a donation, that would be swell!)
This 1962 children’s book makes for a great listen, especially with our Director’s annotations and some bells and whistles thrown in. Perfect for older kids or a refresher for adults, this audiobook covers the basics of acoustics in-depth in an accessible 90 minutes!
Here’s the full Table of Contents:
Part 1: A World Without Sound
Part 2: The Nature of Sound
What is sound?
How can you prove that sound is a form of energy?
How do we hear sounds that are far away?
How can we prove that sound needs a medium to travel through?
Sound Waves
What do we mean by compression waves?
What do we mean by rarefaction waves?
What do we mean by longitudinal waves?
Compression wave: How does it work?
Rarefaction wave: How does it work?
How can we make a vibration write its autograph?
Part 3: Measuring Sound
How fast does sound travel?
How can you use sound to measure distance?
How can you tell the distance of a lightning flash?
What is the pitch of a sound?
What do musicians mean by ‘tone deaf’?
How can you prove that pitch depends on frequency?
How do scientists give proof that pitch depends on frequency?
What is loudness?
How is loudness measured?
Why are farther sounds fainter?
What is resonance?
How did Joshua win the Battle of Jericho?
Part 4: Reflected Sound
What is an echo?
Do bats use their eyesight to find insects?
How do bats locate insects?
How do bats use sound?
How does the porpoise use sound to catch fish in the sea?
How do people who are blind locate objects?
How do ships locate enemy submarines?
How are echoes used to detect schools of fish?
How are echoes used to locate minerals?
Part 5: Musical Sounds and Musical Instruments
What is musical sound?
What is a musical scale?
What is harmony?
How do stringed instruments produce sound?
How do wind instruments produce sound?
How do percussion instruments produce sound?
Part 6: Living Sound Organs
What is the human voice?
How do we hear?
Part 7: Sound and Communication
How does a telephone carry sound?
How does a radio transmit sound without wires?
How can we record sound?
What is stereophonic sound?
How does a wire or tape recorder work?
How are sound movies made?
Part 8: Ultrasonics and Supersonics
What is ultrasonics?
How can you wash dishes with sound?
What is the sound barrier?
What is a sonic boom?
Part 9: Some Interesting Facts About Sound
Why are soldiers at the rear of a column sometimes out of step?
Why does an approaching automobile horn have a higher pitch
than usual?
Why is it easier to hear sounds from a boat during the day than
at nighttime?
When can you hear the ‘sound of the sea’ in a shell?
Your New World of Sound
The Museum of Portable Sound 