decibel

=Decibel=

toc Read here about an exponential metric that varies across scales.

=Decibel=

Decibel scale is logarithmic. The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantity (usually power or intensity) relative to a specified or implied reference level. A ratio in decibels is ten times the logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of two power quantities. A decibel is one tenth of a bel, a seldom-used unit. The decibel is used for a wide variety of measurements in science and engineering, most prominently in acoustics, electronics, and control theory. In electronics, the gain of amplifiers, attenuation of signals, and signal-to-noise ratios are often expressed in decibels. The decibel confers a number of advantages, such as the ability to conveniently represent very large or small numbers, and the ability to carry out multiplication of ratios by simple addition and subtraction. The decibel symbol is often qualified with a suffix, that indicates which reference quantity or frequency weighting function has been used. For example, dBm indicates that the reference quantity is one milliwatt, while dBu is referenced to 0.775 volts RMS. The definitions of the decibel and bel use logarithms to base 10.

Decibel has the “deci-“ meaning powers of ten, by Alexander Graham Bell.