- Decibel – Wikipedia
The Wikipedia page on “Decibel” provides a comprehensive overview of the term. It covers the various uses of decibels, such as in sound level measurement, acoustics, and telecommunications. The page also delves into the history of the decibel and its different applications in the real world, including its use in music and film. - Decibel – Simple English Wikipedia
The Simple English Wikipedia page on “Decibel” offers an easy-to-understand explanation of the term. It describes a decibel as a unit that measures ratios of power or intensity and expresses them as an exponential function. The page provides a basic introduction to the concept of decibels. - Decibel (disambiguation) – Wikipedia
The “Decibel (disambiguation)” page on Wikipedia lists various other uses of the term “Decibel,” such as in music, film, and company names. It serves as a hub for different topics related to “Decibel” outside of its primary use as a unit of measurement. - Decibel watt – Wikipedia
The Wikipedia page on “Decibel watt” focuses specifically on this unit of measurement. It explains that the decibel watt (dBW or dBW) is a unit for measuring the strength of a signal expressed in decibels relative to one watt. The page provides detailed information on the use of decibel watt and its comparison to other similar units of measurement.
Citations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel
[2] https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel_(disambiguation)
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel_watt
The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a power ratio of 101/10 (approximately 1.26) or root-power ratio of 101/20 (approximately 1.12).
The unit expresses a relative change or an absolute value. In the latter case, the numeric value expresses the ratio of a value to a fixed reference value; when used in this way, the unit symbol is often suffixed with letter codes that indicate the reference value. For example, for the reference value of 1 volt, a common suffix is "V" (e.g., "20 dBV").
Two principal types of scaling of the decibel are in common use. When expressing a power ratio, it is defined as ten times the logarithm with base 10. That is, a change in power by a factor of 10 corresponds to a 10 dB change in level. When expressing root-power quantities, a change in amplitude by a factor of 10 corresponds to a 20 dB change in level. The decibel scales differ by a factor of two, so that the related power and root-power levels change by the same value in linear systems, where power is proportional to the square of amplitude.
The definition of the decibel originated in the measurement of transmission loss and power in telephony of the early 20th century in the Bell System in the United States. The bel was named in honor of Alexander Graham Bell, but the bel is seldom used. Instead, the decibel is used for a wide variety of measurements in science and engineering, most prominently for sound power in acoustics, in electronics and control theory. In electronics, the gains of amplifiers, attenuation of signals, and signal-to-noise ratios are often expressed in decibels.
English
Etymology
deci- + bel
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈdɛsɪbɛl/, /ˈdɛsɪbəl/
Noun
decibel (plural decibels)
- A common measure of sound intensity ratio that is one tenth of a bel on the logarithmic intensity scale.