Basics of Nonlinear Time Reversal Acoustics

An investigation of time reversal of nonlinear and non-dissipative or dissipative plane sound waves was made. Propagation and back propagation is time reversal invariant only when the dissipation is zero and the wave has not been shocked. A wave that has shocked has irretrievably lost part of its content. Still, if the wave and its derivatives are considered continuous there remain in theory forever information about the original signal. Factors like numerical accuracy and noise naturally set limits in practical situations.