Alternative Title: dB. Decibel (dB), unit for expressing the ratio between two physical quantities, usually amounts of acoustic or electric power, or for measuring the relative loudness of sounds. One decibel (0.1 bel) equals 10 times the common logarithm of the power ratio.
How loud is 20 decibels?
Comparitive Examples of Noise Levels
Noise Source | Decibel Level | Decibel Effect |
---|---|---|
Library, bird calls (44 dB); lowest limit of urban ambient sound | 40 | One-eighth as loud as 70 dB. |
Quiet rural area. | 30 | One-sixteenth as loud as 70 dB. Very Quiet. |
Whisper, rustling leaves | 20 | |
Breathing | 10 | Barely audible |
What is the formula for dB?
The base-10 logarithm of the ratio of the two power quantities is the number of bels. The number of decibels is ten times the number of bels (equivalently, a decibel is one-tenth of a bel). P and P0 must measure the same type of quantity, and have the same units before calculating the ratio.