26/08/2016 dB:Whatisadecibel?

dB:Whatisadecibel?
Decibels:dB,dB(A),dBA,dB(C),dBV,dBmanddBi?Whataretheyall?Howaretheyrelatedtoloudness,tophonsandtosones?This
pagedescribesandcomparesthemallandgivessoundfileexamples.Arelatedpageallowsyoutomeasureyourhearingresponseandto
comparewithstandardhearingcurves.ThisisabackgroundpagetothemultimediachaptersSoundandQuantifyingSound.

Definitionandexamples
Soundfilestoshowthesizeofadecibel
Standardreferencelevels("absolute"soundlevel)
Logarithmicresponse,psychophysicalmeasures,sonesandphons
ThefiltersusedfordB(A)anddB(C)
Recordinglevelanddecibels(dBVanddBm)
Intensity,radiationanddB
Pressure,intensityandspecificimpedance
dBiandanisotropicradiation
ExampleproblemsusingdBforamplifiergain,speakerpower,hearingsensitivityetc.
Occupationalhealthandsafetyandthelaw
Relatedpages
Whatisalogarithm?Abriefintroduction.

Definitionandexamples
Thedecibel(dB)isusedtomeasuresoundlevel,butitisalsowidelyusedinelectronics,
signalsandcommunication.ThedBisalogarithmicwayofdscribingaratio.Theratiomay
bepower,soundpressure,voltageorintensityorseveralotherthings.LateronwerelatedB
tothephonandthesone(relatedtoloudness).Butfirst,togetatasteforlogarithmic
expressions,let'slookatsomenumbers.(Ifyouhaveforgotten,gotoWhatisalogarithm?)

Forinstance,supposewehavetwoloudspeakers,thefirstplayingasoundwithpowerP1,andanotherplayingalouderversionofthe
samesoundwithpowerP2,buteverythingelse(howfaraway,frequency)keptthesame.

Thedifferenceindecibelsbetweenthetwoisdefinedtobe

10log(P2/P1)dBwherethelogistobase10.

Ifthesecondproducestwiceasmuchpowerthanthefirst,thedifferenceindBis

10log(P2/P1)=10log2=3dB.

asisshownonthegraph,whichplots10log(P2/P1)againstP2/P1.Tocontinuetheexample,ifthesecondhad10timesthepowerofthe
first,thedifferenceindBwouldbe

10log(P2/P1)=10log10=10dB.

Ifthesecondhadamilliontimesthepowerofthefirst,thedifferenceindBwouldbe

10log(P2/P1)=10log1,000,000=60dB.

Thisexampleshowsonefeatureofdecibelscalesthatisusefulindiscussingsound:theycandescribeverybigratiosusingnumbersof
modestsize.Butnotethatthedecibeldescribesaratio:sofarwehavenotsaidwhatpowereitherofthespeakersradiates,onlytheratio
ofpowers.(Notealsothefactor10inthedefinition,whichputsthe'deci'indecibel).
Soundpressure,soundlevelanddB.Soundisusuallymeasuredwithmicrophonesandtheyrespond(approximately)proportionallytothe
soundpressure,p.Nowthepowerinasoundwave,allelseequal,goesasthesquareofthepressure.(Similarly,electricalpowerina
resistorgoesasthesquareofthevoltage.)Thelogofthesquareofxisjust2logx,sothisintroducesafactorof2whenweconvertto
decibelsforpressures.Thedifferenceinsoundpressurelevelbetweentwosoundswithp1andp2istherefore:

20log(p2/p1)dB=10log(p22/p12)dB=10log(P2/P1)dBwhereagainthelogistobase10.

http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm 1/9
26/08/2016 dB:Whatisadecibel?

Whathappenswhenyouhalvethesoundpower?Thelogof2is0.3,sothelogof1/2is0.3.So,ifyouhalvethepower,youreducethe
powerandthesoundlevelby3dB.Halveitagain(downto1/4oftheoriginalpower)andyoureducethelevelbyanother3dB.Ifyoukeep
onhalvingthepower,youhavetheseratios.

WhathappensifIaddtwoidenticalsounds?DoIdoubletheintensity(increaseof3dB)?OrdoIdoublethepressure(increaseof6dB)?
Thisisafrequentlyaskedquestion,anditisalittlesubtle,soitishereonourFAQ.

Soundfilestoshowthesizeofadecibel
Wesawabovethathalvingthepowerreducesthesoundpressurebyroot2andthesoundlevelby3dB.Thatisexactlywhatwehavedone
inthefirstgraphicandsoundfilebelow.

Thefirstsampleofsoundiswhitenoise(amixofall
audiblefrequencies,justaswhitelightisamixofall
visiblefrequencies).Thesecondsampleisthesame
noise,withthevoltagereducedbyafactorofthesquare
rootof2.Thereciprocalofthesquarerootof2is
approximately0.7,so3dBcorrespondstoreducingthe
voltageorthepressureto70%ofitsoriginalvalue.The
greenlineshowsthevoltageasafunctionoftime.The
redlineshowsacontinuousexponentialdecaywith
time.Notethatthevoltagefallsby50%forevery
secondsample.

Note,too,thatadoublingofthepowerdoesnotmakea
hugedifferencetotheloudness.We'lldiscussthis
furtherbelow,butit'sausefulthingtorememberwhen
choosingsoundreproductionequipment.

SoundfilesandflashanimationbyJohnTannand
GeorgeHatsidimitris.

Howbigisadecibel?Inthenextseries,successivesamplesarereducedbyjustonedecibel.
OnedecibelisclosetotheJustNoticeableDifference
(JND)forsoundlevel.Asyoulistentothesefiles,you
willnoticethatthelastisquieterthanthefirst,butitis
ratherlesscleartotheearthatthesecondofanypairis
quieterthanitspredecessor.10*log10(1.26)=1,soto
increasethesoundlevelby1dB,thepowermustbe
increasedby26%,orthevoltageby12%.

http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm 2/9
26/08/2016 dB:Whatisadecibel?

Whatifthedifferenceislessthanadecibel?Soundlevelsarerarelygivenwithdecimalplaces.Thereasonisthatsoundlevelsthatdiffer
bylessthan1dBarehardtodistinguish,asthenextexampleshows.
Youmaynoticethatthelastisquieterthanthefirst,but
itisdifficulttonoticethedifferencebetweensuccessive
pairs.10*log10(1.07)=0.3,sotoincreasethesound
levelby0.3dB,thepowermustbeincreasedby7%,or
thevoltageby3.5%.

Standardreferencelevels("absolute"soundlevel)

Wesaidabovethatthedecibelisaratio.So,whenitisusedtogivethesoundlevelforasinglesoundratherthanaratio,areference
levelmustbechosen.Forsoundpressurelevel,thereferencelevel(forair)isusuallychosenas20micropascals(20Pa),or
0.02mPa.(Thisisverylow:itis2tenbillionthsofanatmosphere.Nevertheless,thisisaboutthelimitofsensitivityofthehuman
ear,initsmostsensitiverangeoffrequency.Usuallythissensitivityisonlyfoundinratheryoungpeopleorinpeoplewhohavenot
beenexposedtoloudmusicorotherloudnoises.Personalmusicsystemswithinearspeakersarecapableofveryhighsoundlevels
intheear,andarebelievedbysometoberesponsibleformuchofthehearinglossinyoungadultsindevelopedcountries.)

Soifyoureadofasoundpressurelevelof86dB,itmeansthat

20log(p2/p1)=86dB

wherep1isthesoundpressureofthereferencelevel,andp2thatofthesoundinquestion.Dividebothsidesby20:

log(p2/p1)=4.3

http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm 3/9
26/08/2016 dB:Whatisadecibel?

p2/p1=104.3

4isthelogof10thousand,0.3isthelogof2,sothissoundhasasoundpressure20thousand
timesgreaterthanthatofthereferencelevel(p2/p1=20,000).86dBisaloudbutnotdangerous
levelofsound,ifitisnotmaintainedforverylong.

Whatdoes0dBmean?Thisleveloccurswhenthemeasuredintensityisequaltothereference
level.i.e.,itisthesoundlevelcorrespondingto0.02mPa.Inthiscasewehave

soundlevel=20log(pmeasured/preference)=20log1=0dB

Rememberthatdecibelsmeasurearatio.0dBoccurswhenyoutakethelogofaratioof1
(log1=0).So0dBdoesnotmeannosound,itmeansasoundlevelwherethesoundpressureis
equaltothatofthereferencelevel.Thisisasmallpressure,butnotzero.Itisalsopossibleto
havenegativesoundlevels:20dBwouldmeanasoundwithpressure10timessmallerthanthe
referencepressure,ie2Pa.

Notallsoundpressuresareequallyloud.Thisisbecausethehumaneardoesnotrespond
equallytoallfrequencies:wearemuchmoresensitivetosoundsinthefrequencyrangeabout
1kHzto4kHz(1000to4000vibrationspersecond)thantoveryloworhighfrequencysounds.
Forthisreason,soundmetersareusuallyfittedwithafilterwhoseresponsetofrequencyisabit
likethatofthehumanear.(Moreaboutthesefiltersbelow.)Ifthe"Aweightingfilter"isused,the
soundpressurelevelisgiveninunitsofdB(A)ordBA.SoundpressurelevelonthedBAscaleiseasytomeasureandistherefore
widelyused.Itisstilldifferentfromloudness,however,becausethefilterdoesnotrespondinquitethesamewayastheear.To
determinetheloudnessofasound,oneneedstoconsultsomecurvesrepresentingthefrequencyresponseofthehumanear,given
below.(Alternatively,youcanmeasureyourownhearingresponse.)

Logarithmicresponse,psychophysicalmeasures,sonesandphons
Whydoweusedecibels?Theeariscapableofhearingaverylargerangeofsounds:theratioofthesoundpressurethatcauses
permanentdamagefromshortexposuretothelimitthat(undamaged)earscanhearismorethanamillion.Todealwithsucharange,
logarithmicunitsareuseful:thelogofamillionis6,sothisratiorepresentsadifferenceof120dB.

ThefiltersusedfordBAanddB(C)

ThemostwidelyusedsoundlevelfilteristheAscale,whichroughlycorrespondstotheinverseofthe40dB(at1kHz)equal
loudnesscurve.Usingthisfilter,thesoundlevelmeteristhuslesssensitivetoveryhighandverylowfrequencies.Measurements
madeonthisscaleareexpressedasdBA.TheCscaleispracticallylinearoverseveraloctavesandisthussuitableforsubjective
measurementsonlyforveryhighsoundlevels.MeasurementsmadeonthisscaleareexpressedasdB(C).Thereisalsoa(rarelyused)
Bweightingscale,intermediatebetweenAandC.ThefigurebelowshowstheresponseoftheAfilter(left)andCfilter,withgainsin
dBgivenwithrespectto1kHz.(Foranintroductiontofilters,seeRCfilters,integratorsanddifferentiators.)

Onthemusicacousticsandspeechacousticssites,weplotthesoundspectraindB.Thereasonforthiscommonpracticeisthatthe
rangeofmeasuredsoundpressuresislarge.

http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm 4/9
26/08/2016 dB:Whatisadecibel?
dB(G)measurementsuseanarrowbandfilterthatgiveshighweightingtofrequenciesbetween1and20Hz,andlowweightingto
others.Itthusgiveslargevaluesforsoundsandinfrasoundsthatcannotreadilybeheard.ISO7196:1995

Loudness,phonsandsones
ThephonisaunitthatisrelatedtodBbythepsychophysicallymeasuredfrequencyresponseoftheear.At1kHz,readingsinphons
anddBare,bydefinition,thesame.Forallotherfrequencies,thephonscaleisdeterminedbytheresultsofexperimentsinwhich
volunteerswereaskedtoadjusttheloudnessofasignalatagivenfrequencyuntiltheyjudgeditsloudnesstoequalthatofa1kHz
signal.ToconvertfromdBtophons,youneedagraphofsuchresults.Suchagraphdependsonsoundlevel:itbecomesflatterathigh
soundlevels.

Thisgraph,courtesyofLindosland,showsthe2003datafromtheInternationalStandardsOrganisationforcurvesofequalloudnessdetermined
experimentally.PlotsofequalloudnessasafunctionoffrequencyareoftengenericallycalledFletcherMunsoncurvesaftertheoriginalworkbyFletcher,H.
andMunson,W.A.(1933)J.Acoust.Soc.Am.6:59.Youcanmakeyourowncurvesusingourhearingresponsesite.

Thesoneisderivedfrompsychophysicalmeasurementswhichinvolvedvolunteersadjustingsoundsuntiltheyjudgethemtobetwice
asloud.Thisallowsonetorelateperceivedloudnesstophons.Asoneisdefinedtobeequalto40phons.Experimentallyitwas
foundthata10dBincreaseinsoundlevelcorrespondsapproximatelytoaperceiveddoublingofloudness.Sothat
approximationisusedinthedefinitionofthephon:0.5sone=30phon,1sone=40phon,2sone=50phon,4sone=60phon,etc.

Wouldn'titbegreattobeabletoconvertfromdB(whichcanbemeasuredbyaninstrument)tosones(whichapproximateloudness
asperceivedbypeople)?Thisisusuallydoneusingtablesthatyoucanfindinacousticshandbooks.However,ifyoudon'tminda
rathercrudeapproximation,youcansaythattheAweightingcurveapproximatesthehumanfrequencyresponseatlowtomoderate
soundlevels,sodB(A)isveryroughlythesameasphons.Thenusethelogarithmicrelationbetweensonesandphonsdescribed
above.

Recordinglevelanddecibels
http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm 5/9
26/08/2016 dB:Whatisadecibel?
Metersmeasuringrecordingoroutputlevelonaudioelectronicgear(mixingconsolesetc)arealmostalwaysrecordingtheACrms
voltage(seelinkstofindoutaboutACandrms).ForagivenresistorR,thepowerPisV2/R,so
differenceinvoltagelevel=20log(V2/V1)dB=10log(V22/V12)dB=10log(P2/P1)dB,or

absolutevoltagelevel=20log(V/Vref)

whereVrefisareferencevoltage.Sowhatisthereferencevoltage?

Theobviousleveltochooseisonevoltrms,andinthiscasetheleveliswrittenasdBV.Thisisrational,andalsoconvenientwith
modernanalogdigitalcardswhosemaximumrangeisoftenaboutonevoltrms.Soonehastoremembertothekeepthelevelin
negativedBV(lessthanonevolt)toavoidclippingthepeaksofthesignal,butnottoonegative(soyoursignalisstillmuchbigger
thanthebackgroundnoise).

SometimesyouwillseedBm.Thisusedtomeandecibelsofelectricalpower,withrespecttoonemilliwatt,andsometimesitstill
does.However,it'scomplicatedforhistoricalreasons.Inthemidtwentiethcentury,manyaudiolineshadanominalimpedanceof
600.Iftheimpedanceispurelyresisitive,andifyousetV2/600=1mW,thenyougetV=0.775volts.So,providingyouwere
usinga600load,1mWofpowerwas0dBm,whichwas0.775V,soyoucalibratedyourlevelmetersthus.Theproblemarose
because,oncealevelmeterthatmeasuresvoltageiscalibratedlikethis,itwillread0dBmat0.775Vevenifitisnotconnectedto
600So,perhapsillogically,dBmwillsometimesmeandBwithrespectto0.775V.(WhenIwasaboy,calculatorswereexpensivesoIused
dad'soldsliderule,whichhadthefactor0.775markedonthecursorwindowtofacilitatesuchcalculations.)

HowtoconvertdBVordBmintodBofsoundlevel?Thereisnosimpleway.Itdependsonhowyouconverttheelectricalpower
intosoundpower.Evenifyourelectricalsignalisconnecteddirectlytoaloudspeaker,theconversionwilldependontheefficiency
andimpedanceofyourloudspeaker.Andofcoursetheremaybeapoweramplifier,andvariousacousticcomplicationsbetween
whereyoumeasurethedBVonthemixingdeskandwhereyourearsareinthesoundfield.

Intensity,radiationanddB
Howdoessoundlevel(orradiosignallevel,etc)dependondistancefromthesource?

Asourcethtemitsradiationequallyinalldirectionsiscalledisotropic.Consideranisolated
sourceofsound,farfromanyreflectingsurfacesperhapsabirdsinginghighintheair.
Imagineaspherewithradiusr,centredonthesource.ThesourceoutputsatotalpowerP,
continuously.Thissoundpowerspreadsoutandispassingthroughthesurfaceofthesphere.If
thesourceisisotropic,theintensityIisthesameeverywhereonthissurface,bydefinition.The
intensityIisdefinedasthepowerperunitarea.Thesurfaceareaofthesphereis4r2,sothe
power(inourexample,thesoundpower)passingthrougheachsquaremetreofsurfaceis,by
definition:

I=P/4r2.
Soweseethat,foranisotropicsource,intensityisinverselyproportionaltothesquareofthe
distanceawayfromthesource:
I2/I1=r12/r22.
Butintensityisproportionaltothesquareofthesoundpressure,sowecouldequallywrite:
p2/p1=r1/r2.
So,ifwedoublethedistance,wereducethesoundpressurebyafactorof2andtheintensitybyafactorof4:inotherwords,we
reducethesoundlevelby6dB.Ifweincreaserbyafactorof10,wedecreasethelevelby20dB,etc.

Bewarned,however,thatmanysourcesarenotisotropic,especiallyifthewavelengthissmallerthan,orofasizecomparablewith
thesource.Further,reflectionsareoftenquiteimportant,especiallyifthegroundisnearby,orifyouareindoors.

Pressure,intensityandspecificimpedance

Foracousticwaves,thespecificacousticimpedancezisdefinedastheratiooftheacousticpressureptotheparticlevelocityu,
z=p/u.InAcousticimpedance,intensityandpower,weshowhowtorelateRMSacousticpressurepandintensityI:
I=p2/z
Forair,thespecificacousticimpedancezis420kg.s1.m2=420Pa.s.m1.For(fresh)water,thespecificacousticimpedancefor
wateris1.48MPa.s.m1.Soasoundwaveinwaterwiththesamepressurehasamuchlowerintensitythanoneinair.

dBiandradiationthatvarieswithdirection

http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm 6/9
26/08/2016 dB:Whatisadecibel?
Radiationthatvariesindirectioniscalledanisotropic.Formanycasesincommunication,isotropicradiationiswasteful:whyemita
substantialfractionofpowerupwardsifthereceiveris,likeyou,relativelyclosetogroundlevel.Forsoundofshortwavelength
(includingmostoftheimportantrangeforspeech),amegaphonecanhelpmakeyourvoicemoreanisotropic.Forradio,awiderange
ofdesignsallowsantennaetobehighlyanisotropicforbothtransmissionandreception.

So,whenyouinterestedinemissionin(orreceptionfrom)aparticulardirection,youwanttheratioofintensitymeasuredinthat
direction,atagivendistance,tobehigherthanthatmeasuredatthesamedistancefromanisotropicradiator(orreceivedbyan
isotropicreceiver).ThisratioiscalledthegainexpresstheratioindBandyouhavethegainindBiforthatradiator.Thisunitis
mainlyusedforantennae,eithertransmittingandreceiving,butitissometimesusedforsoundsources(anddirectionalmicrophones).

Exampleproblems
AfewpeoplehavewrittenaskingforexamplesinusingdBincalculations.So...

Allelseequal,howmuchlouderisloudspeakerdriven(initslinearrange)bya100Wamplifierthanbya10Wamplifier?

Thepowersdifferbyafactoroften,which,aswesawabove,is10dB.Allelseequalheremeansthatthefrequencyresponsesare
equalandthatthesameinputsignalisused,etc.Sothefrequencydependenceshouldbethesame.10dBcorrespondsto10phons.To
getaperceiveddoublingofloudness,youneedanincreaseof10phons.Sothespeakerdrivenbythe100Wamplifieristwiceasloud
aswhendrivenbythe10W,assumingyoustayinthelinearrangeanddon'tdistortordestroythespeaker.(The100Wamplifier
producestwiceasmanysonesasdoesthe10W.)

IamstandingatadistanceRfromasmallsourceofsound(sizemuchlessthanR),atgroundleveloutintheopenwherereflections
maybeneglected.ThesoundlevelisL.IfInowmovetoadistancenR(nanumber,andnRstillmuchgreaterthanthesizeofthe
source),whatwillbethenewsoundlevel?

First,notethattheneglectofreflectionsisveryimportant.Thiscalculationwillnotworkinsidearoom,wherereflectionsfromthe
wall(collectivelyproducingreverberation)makethecalculationquitedifficult.Outintheopen,thesoundintensityisproportionalto
1/r2,whereristhedistancefromthesource.(Theconstantofproportionalitydependsonhowwellthegroundreflects,anddoesn't
concernushere,becauseitwillcancelinthecalculation.)So,ifweincreaserfromRtonR,wedecreasetheintensityfromItoI/n2.

ThedifferenceindecibelsbetweenthetwosignalsofintensityI2andI1isdefinedabovetobe

L=10log(I2/I1)=10log((I/n2)/I)=10log(1/n2)=10log(n2)=20logn.

Forexample,ifnis2(ieifwegotwiceasfaraway),theintensityisreducedbyafactoroffourandsoundlevelfallsfromLto
(L6dB).

If,inidealquietconditions,ayoungpersoncanheara1kHztoneat0dBemittedbyaloudspeaker(perhapsasoftspeaker?),byhow
muchmustthepoweroftheloudspeakerbeincreasedtoraisethesoundto110dB(adangerouslyloudbutsurvivablelevel)?

ThedifferenceindecibelsbetweenthetwosignalsofpowerP2andP1isdefinedabovetobe

L=10log(P2/P1)dBso,raising10tothepowerofthesetwoequalquantities:
10L/10=P2/P1so:
P2/P1=10110/10=1011=onehundredthousandmillion.
whichisademonstrationthatthehumanearhasaremarkablylargedynamicrange,perhapsgreaterthanthatoftheeye.

Anamplifierhasaninputof10mVandandoutputof2V.WhatisitsvoltagegainindB?

Voltage,likepressure,appearssquaredinexpressionsforpowerorintensity.(ThepowerdissipatedinaresistorRisV2/R.)So,by
convention,wedefine:

gain=20log(Vout/Vin)
=20log(2V/10mV)
=46dB
(Intheacousticcasesgivenabove,wesawthatthepressureratio,expressedindB,wasthesameasthepowerratio:thatwasthereasonforthefactor20when
definingdBforpressure.Itisworthnotingthat,inthevoltagegainexample,thepowergainoftheampifierisunlikelytoequalthevoltagegain,whichis
definedbytheconventionusedhere.Thepowerisproportionaltothesquareofthevoltageinagivenresistor.However,theinputandoutputimpedancesof
amplifiersareoftenquitedifferent.Forinstance,abufferamplifieroremitterfollowerhasavoltagegainofabout1,butalargecurrentgain.)

Whatisthedifference,indB,betweentheirradiance(lightintensity)onearth(8.3lightminutesfromthesun)andonUranus(160
lightminutes)?

http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm 7/9
26/08/2016 dB:Whatisadecibel?

Likesound,isotropiclightintensitydecreasesasr2,sotheintensityratiois(160/8.3)2=20log(160/8.3)=26dB.

Occupationalhealthandsafety
Differentcountriesandprovincesobviouslyhavedifferentlawsconcerningnoiseexposureatwork,whichareenforcedwithdiffering
enthusiasm.Manysuchregulationshavealimitforexposuretocontinuousnoiseof85dB(A),foran8hourshift.Foreach3dB
increase,theallowedexposureishalved.So,ifyouworkinanightclubwhereamplifiedmusicproduces100dB(A)nearyourears,
theallowedexposureis15minutes.Thereisalimitforimpulsenoiselikefirearmsortoolsthatuseexplosiveshots.(e.g.140dB
peakshouldnotbeexceededatanytimeduringtheday.)Therearemanydocumentsprovidingadviceonhowtoreducenoise
exposureatthesource(ieturnthemusicleveldown),betweenthesourceandtheear(iemoveawayfromtheloudspeakersata
concert)andattheear(iewearearplugsorindustrialhearingprotectors).Noisemanagementandprotectionofhearingatworkisthe
codeofpracticeinthestateofNewSouthWales,Australia(theauthor'saddress).

SomeFAQs

Howloudisanaircraft?Atrain?Apersonsinging?Adogbarking?Apowertool?Theanswerstothisquestionvaryconsiderably.It
dependsstronglyuponhowfarawayyouare,whetheryouareindoorsornot,whetherthereisreverberation,howstrongthe
particularsourceisandwhatitsspectrumis.Togivevalues,withoutbeingveryspecificabouttheconditions,wouldbesomewhat
misleading.Becausetherestofthispageisintendedtobereliable,asfarasitgoes,I'drathernotgivevalueshere.

Howdoesone"adddecibels"?,meaningWhatsoundleveldoyougetwhenyouaddlevelatolevelb?Ifthesourcesarecoherent
(whichusuallymeansthattheyultimatelycomefromthesamesource),thentheremaybecomplicatedinterferenceeffects.Inmost
cases,wherethesourcesareindependent,onecanaddtheintensitiesandthenconverttodecibels.However,ifyouaregiventhe
soundlevelsindB(A),itisnotsoeasytogobacktointensity,andonemustknowsomethingaboutthespectrumofthesound.Ifyou
knowthedistributionofthesoundindifferentfrequencybands,youcanusetheappletonthislink.

SomeofthequestionsonourFAQinmusicacousticsrelatetodecibels,including
Whydothesoundsoftwomusicalinstrumentsalwaysreinforce,andnevercancelout?
Howmuchdoesonemoreviolinaddtothesoundlevelofasectionofnviolins?
Doesaddingtwoequalsoundsgiveanincreaseof3or6dB?Why?
Whatistheloudestsound?

Relatedpages
Measureyourownhearingresponse
Addingsoundlevelsfromincoherentsources
WhatareinterferencebeatsandTartinitones?
FAQinmusicacoustics
Loudnessandspectra:howspectralcontentandotherfeaturesarerelatedtoloudness
Formants:whatarethey?Adiscussionofthedifferentmeaningsofthisterm
Musicacousticshomepage
Physclips:amultilevel,multimediaintroductiontomechanics.
Alistofothereducationalwebsitesfromthisauthor

Whatisalogarithm?Abriefintroduction.

Firstlet'slookatexponents.Ifwewrite102or103,wemean
102=10*10=100and103=10*10*10=1000.
Sotheexponent(2or3inourexample)tellsushowmanytimestomultiplythebase(10inourexample)byitself.Forthispage,we
onlyneedlogarithmstobase10,sothat'sallwe'lldiscuss.Intheseexamples,2isthelogof100,and3isthelogof1000.Ina
multiplicationcalculationlikethoseabove,101wouldmeanthatthereisonlyone10intheproduct,so1isthelogof10,orinother
words
101=10.
Wecanalsohavenegativelogarithms.Whenwewrite102wemean0.01,whichis1/100,so
10n=1/10n
Let'sgoonestepmorecomplicated.Let'sworkoutthevalueof(102)3.Thisiseasyenoughtodo,onestepatatime:
(102)3=(100)3=100*100*100=1,000,000=106.
Bywritingitout,youshouldconvinceyourselfthat,foranywholenumbersnandm,
(10n)m=10nm.

http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm 8/9
26/08/2016 dB:Whatisadecibel?
Butwhatifnisnotawholenumber?Sincetheruleswehaveusedsofar
don'ttelluswhatthiswouldmean,wecandefineittomeanwhatwelike,
butweshouldchooseourdefinitionsothatitisconsistent.Thedefinition
ofthelogarithmofanumbera(tobase10)isthis:
10loga=a.
Inotherwords,thelogofthenumberaisthepowertowhichyoumust
raise10togetthenumbera.Foranexampleofanumberwhoselogis
notawholenumber,let'sconsiderthesquarerootof10,whichis3.1623...,
inotherwords3.16232=10.Usingourdefinitionabove,wecanwritethis
as
3.16232=(10log3.1623)2=10=101.
However,usingourrulethat(10n)m=10nm,weseethatinthiscase
log3.1623*2=1,sothelogof3.1623...is1/2.Thesquarerootof10is
100.5.Nowthereareacoupleofquestions:howdowecalculatelogs?and
Canwebesurethatallrealnumbersgreaterthanzerohavereallogs?We
leavethesetomathematicians(who,bytheway,wouldbehappytogive
youamorerigoroustreatmentofexponentsthatthissuperficialaccount).

Afewotherimportantexamplesareworthnoting.100wouldhavethe
propertythat,nomatterhowmanytimesyoumultiplieditbyitself,it
wouldnevergetaslargeas10.Further,nomatterhowmanytimesyou
divideditinto1,youwouldnevergetassmallas1/10.Usingour log 10xvsx.
(10n)m=10nmrule,youwillseethat100=1satisfiesthis,sothelogof
oneiszero.Thelogof2isusedofteninacoustics,anditis0.3010(see
graphatright).Hence,afactorof2inpowercorrespondsto3.01dB,
whichweshouldnormallywriteas3dBbecause,asyoucandiscoverfor
yourselfinhearingresponse,decimalpointsofdecibelsareusuallytoo
smalltonotice.

Gobacktotopofpage.

JoeWolfe/[email protected].

PhysclipsHomeSitemapforsupportingpages
TheAustralianOfficeforLearningandTeaching
SchoolofPhysicsUNSW2052
DisclaimerFeedback

ThisworkislicensedunderaCreativeCommons
License.

http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm 9/9