Abstract
It is commonly remarked that the theory of acoustics is based on an infinitesimal theory and the linear relation between sound pressure and particlevelocity is well understood for a description of sound propagation in a fluid. The relation does not hold when the amplitude of sound wave is increased to be finite. A brief survey on 'Nonlinear Acoustics' is presened here which forms a bridge between the linear acoustics and the theory of shock wave. Nonlinear acoustics is concerned with a study of the second order phenomena generated in sound beams due to the inherent nonlinearity of the medium. The main topics described here are waveform distortion, acoustic streaming, and acoustic radiation pressure. Other interests such as cavitation are included but not presented in this survey.
