A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician. The application of acoustics in technology is called acoustical engineering. There is often much overlap and interaction between the interests of acousticians and acoustical engineers.
The first such application was Sabines groundbreaking work in architectural acoustics, and many others followed. Underwater acoustics was used for detecting submarines in the first World War.
This falls within the domain of physical acoustics. In fluids, sound propagates primarily as a pressure wave. In solids, mechanical waves can take many forms including longitudinal waves, transverse waves and surface waves.
Source: Wikipedia > Acoustics
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