Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1979 - 41

~~~~~~~~~~~J_are_d_sa_'~m_a_n_Book

Applied Acoustics by G. Porges. New York: John Wiley and Sons,
1977, ISBN 0-470-99337 -5, 180 pp., illus., $16.95 cloth.
This textbook is intended to serve as an introduction to acoustics
for physicists and engineers. The thrust of the book is toward the control of sound as an environmental factor in interiors. The clearest objective seen in reading the text is to provide an analysis of the basic
physics of noise generation and of acoustical control of that noise.
The breadth of the book is in fact greater than this, as described below. However, if one were preparing, for example, a course in architectural acoustics, the same publisher"s Room Acoustics by Heinrich
Kuttruff might better serve the students.
Of note in the present book is a sincere and successful attempt to
avoid more advanced mathematics. The most appropriate methods
produce brief and elegant solutions, but sometimes obscure the physical processes involved. They can also limit access to basic acoustics
to students with a taste for math. While two years of college calculus
are required to follow the derivations, neither analysis nor a separate
course in complex variables is needed for students using Applied
Acoustics. Fourier series and Bessel functions are each mentioned
only once. Exponential notation of wave motion is introduced once as
a "last resort," and the reader is referred to a helpful appendix. The
result is much more satisfying for students with limited math than is
usually the case. They are not asked to take anything "on faith."
Porges begins with the barest sketch of wave motion and sound.
This is in fact the only unsatisfactory section. It might be acceptable in
a book aimed at more advanced stUdents, but the stated intention of
the author is otherwise. The immediately subsequent chapters, which
presume an understanding of waves. discuss characterization and
measurement of sound in the clearest theoretical and practical terms.
They are in fact more typical of the readability of this text. This material comprises the first quarter of the book.
The central half of Applied Acoustics describes the processes of
transmission, absorption, and reflection of sound. While all the derivations are complete, Porges does not stray from his promise to apply
the theory. Each analysis is based on a diagrammed practical situation which is not abandoned in the rush of symbolic manipulation. The
examples turn out to be useful in the later chapters of the book.
After a ten page glance at room acoustics, the final three chapters
discuss transmission through solids, radiation of sound, and noise
sources. These are particularly practical sections, with numerous
vivid examples. But it is difficult to compete with Bruce Bliven, Jr. 's
description of Cyril Harris crawling into a duct ( The New Yorker, November 8, 1976) or Harris' own Handbook of Noise Control. Porges
includes an appendix of empirical formulas for several common
sources of noise. At this point, it becomes easier to understand why
so many of the air transmission examples presented earlier in the

USITT /Fall, 1979

Reviews

book involved ventilation ducts. Structure-borne and HVAC noise and
its control are the applications of greatest interest to the author.
Studying the book is a pleasant experience. The layout and typography are attractive and comfortable to read. The line drawings are
particularly clear and helpful in following the adjacent text. There are
many concrete examples included, with "real" numbers to illustrate
application of the formulas. However, many would disagree with the
assertion that, .. It is rarely necessary, in acoustic calculations, to consider frequencies above 4000 Hz." But Porges does not make any
pretense to the inclusion of musical sound in this compact study.
Timothy H. Buchman

Amherst College

Designing With Lightby J. Michael Gillette. Palo Alto: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1978, ISBN 0-87484-420-7, 195 pp., illus., $9.95
paper.
The title of J. Michael Gillette's text Designing with Lighf is at best
ambiguous and perhaps misleading. The subtitle of the volume, "an
introduction to stage lighting," describes the book very accurately
and appropriately. I feel confident that armed with this text, a reasonable inventory of lighting equipment, a control board, some cable, and
some color media that a finished lighting design can be achieved by a
novice designer.
One direction for a lighting designer is to draft a light plot to be executed by a head electrician and stagehands. Analogously, in the realm
of the building trades, it is standard practice to utilize the services of
an architect to design a building and contractors to construct it. However, outside the context of United Scenic Artists, it is often the case
that a lighting designer will not only create the light plot, but will also
hang, gel, cable. focus, and even operate the control board. This situation is common not only in small colleges, but also in high schools,
community, and resident theatres. Even if the designer does not personally execute all these tasks, the designer often directly supervises
and, in many instances, instructs the crew members who are hanging,
focusing, gelling, cabling and running the performance. It's exactly
this body of knowledge that the Gillette book introduces.
The first part of the book is devoted to the tools of lighting design
including instruments. cables, and intensity control. Especially valuable is the section on electrical theory. It is one of the few explanations of how electricity works that makes any sense. Many other
books have used the "water analogy" to try to explain electricity. The
majority are obscure. However, Mr. Gillette's explanation is clear and
concise. The illustration on page 16 is superb. The chapter devoted to

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