Cn phn bit dB, dBm, dBw dBd, dBi, dBc

Mnh thy bi vit ny kh hay nn cng khng vit li lm g: 1. dBm, dBw dBm l n v cng sut thun ty (khng so snh). Cch tnh 1dBm=10log(PmW/1mW) V d: Cng sut pht ca thit b l 10W, biu din dng dBm l 10lg(10000/1)=40dBm. Tng t, dBW cng l n v cng sut thun ty, nhng c chuyn i t W sang. Vd: 1W > 10lg(1) = 0dBW; 2W = 3dBW. 2. dBi, dBd dBi v dBd u l cc n v biu din li cng sut (power gain) ca antenna, nhng c tham chiu khc nhau.

dBm l decibell tnh so vi mt miliwatt, cn c gn l [di-bi-em]

Tng t vy, dBi c l [di-bi-ai], l tng ch (hay li) ca mt ng-ten so vi ng-ten ng hng (isotropic). dBd, c l [di-bi-di], l tng ch ca mt ng-ten so vi mt ng-ten lng cc (ch d sau dB y l vit tt ca t dipole, ngha l ng-ten lng cc) na sng (half wave dipole).

C dBi ln dBd u cng ch tng ch (G) ca ng-ten, vn l so vi ng-ten no, ng hng hay lng cc na sng. 0dBd = 2.15dBi G [dBi] = G [dBd] + 2.15 [dB] Anten 3G (UMTS) thng c li khong 18dBi (dual: 2 x 18dBi) Vi dBi th i l vit tt ca t ng hng (isotropic). N l n v ca h s tng ch ca anten pht x ng hng. Ngoi ra vi anten pht x c hng th n v ca h s tng ch l dBd. V trong lc tnh ton th dBi c coi nh dB. 3. dB dB l n v so snh v mnh (intensity), cng sut (power). i vi in p (V), dng (I) v trng E (in trng, t trng), cng thc tnh l 20lgX (dB) i vi cng sut (P), li (G), cng thc tnh l 10lgX (dB) Vd: Cng sut A l XW tng ng XdBm, Cng sut B l YW tng ng YdBm. Khi so snh A ln hn (nh hn) B bao nhiu dB, tnh bng 10g(X/Y)dB hoc (X-Y)dB. Antenna A c li 20dBd, B l 14dBd, vy A c li ln hn B 6dB 4. dBc dBc c phng php tnh ging vi dB v cng l mt n v tng i, c lin h n mt i lng khc. dBc thng c dng m t kh nng ca cc RF components, vd: carrier power c m t bi mc interference, coupling, scattering u dng dBc, c th thay bng dB. dBc t c dng n. ---------------------------------mi quan h gia dB v dBm l nh sau:X[dB]+Y [dB] = Z[dB] X[dB]- Y[dB] = Z[dB] X[dBm] +Y[dB] = Z[dBm] X[dBm]-Y[dB] = Z[dBm]

X[dBm]- Y[dBm] = Z[dB] X[dBm] + Y[dBm] = Z [] + ----------------------------------------------- chuyn gia cc i lng tnh theo dB, dBm, ... bn nn ch l cc gi tr u l gi tr so snh theo 1 i lng chun (reference), v d dB ly chun l 1W, dBm ly chun l 1mW. V vy chuyn i qua li th cch d dng nht l chuyn v dng tuyn tnh ri i ngc li. V d 1.5dB = ? dBm. Ta chuyn 1.5dB sang W bng 10^(1.5/10) = 1.4125W, i sang mW c 1412.5 mW, i ngc li dBm 10*log(1412.5) = 31.5 dBm Cch lm nh vy tuy di nhng khng s sai, iu ct yu l bn hiu c nhng ci reference khc nhau (tu mi lnh vc ngi ta s chn ra reference tng ng) KIN THC CN BN V M THANH

BI 1 - DECIBEL

Nu cc bn l k thut vin, ngi chn mua thit b, t chc ban nhc, hoc l ch nh hng c trch nhim b tr mt h thng m thanh cho cng vic kinh doanh ca mnh, hoc cho cc hot ng ca nh th, nh trng vvca mnh, cu hi u tin t ra c l l mnh cn h thng m thanh cng sut bao nhiu watt nh?

Cu hi c v n gin, thc ra cha chnh xc v cng cha . Nu c ngi bn hng no ngm ngh ri tr li bn: 500watt hay 1000watt, th l cha i vo vn , cng c khi l v di dng qu, h khng tr li ht.

KHI NIM DECIBEL

Kin thc u tin bn cn l hiu bit v n v o lng DECIBEL

Nu n v ca ngi th xy, th may l mt hoc centimt, ca ngi cn hng l k hoc gram, ca ngi bn xng l lt, ca ngi y t ang o thn nhit l , th n v ca ngi chuyn vin m thanh l DECIBEL. Tuy nhin, khi nim decibel hi phc tp, khng c th nh lt hoc mt.

Decibel l n v o lng m thanh da trn tnh cht ca tai ngi. m thanh tng ng mc khng nghe thy g s l 0dB, mc au tai khng chu c s l khong 140dB. Tuy nhin khi ta cch ngun m 10m th m thanh khng ln nh khi ta ngay cnh, c 1m. Vy cng m thanh, o bng decibel, cn l thuc khong cch. Theo quy c, cc s o c cn c trn khong cch 1m t tai ngi (hoc my o) n ngun m.

Bng di y cho khi nim n gin v n trong mi trng xung quanh, o bng decibel:

Hon ton khng nghe thy g Rp phim cch m, khng c ting n Vn phng ang lm vic, snh yn tnh ca khch sn, nh hng n Vn phng n o, siu th Hi trng n o, nh in Nh my sn xut

0dB ~50dB ~60dB ~70dB ~80dB ~90dB

Hnh: mt vi loi my o decibel TNH TON

mt h

Vy tnh ra cng sut m thanh cn thit cho mt hi trng chng hn, trc tin ta phi c lng cng m thanh bng decibel m thng loa, m thanh, phi pht ra.

m thanh ni pht ra t loa nghe r, ngun m cn phi ln hn n mi trng khong 6dB tr ln. V thng thc m nhc r v hay th ngun m phi ln hn t 10 n 15, 20dB. Th d mt hi trng c di 30m, chiu ngang 10m, n trung bnh l 70db; vy h thng loa cn pht ra ti thiu 80dB cng sut m thanh nhc. Nhng l phi tnh ch gc xa nht trong phng, trong trng hp ny l ~32m.

Hnh: m hnh hi trng v h thng loa

Theo tnh ton v o c thc t, khi khong cch tng gp i th cng m thanh gim i -6dB. Ta c bng tnh n gin sau:

SUY GIM M THANH SO VI KHONG CCH

Khong cch 1M suy gim 0

2M -6

4M -12

8M -18

16M -24

32M -30

64M -36

Nh th c ngha l, m thanh cch ngun 32m s suy gim 30dB. Vy nu mun ngi ngi cui khn phng gc xa nht nghe m thanh nhc 80dB, ti b loa ( khong cch 1m ) cn pht ra m thanh o c 80+30 = 110dB.

Bn c gii p ri! Cu tr li trong trng hp ny l 110dB. Nhng 110 dB th tng ng vi cng sut bao nhiu watt? V s dng loa g? Cng sut ca amplifier th no? li l mt vn khc, khng km phc tp. Hn gp li cc bn mt vi bi sau nh

Bi tip theo chng ta s ni r hn v decibel v cc n v lin quan n decibel.

dB: What is a decibel?

Decibels: dB, dBA, dBC, dBV, dBm and dBi? What are they all? How are they related to loudness, to phons and to sones? This page describes and compares them all and gives sound file examples. A related page allows you to measure your hearing response and to compare with standard hearing curves. This is a background page to the multimedia chapters Sound and Quantifying Sound.

Definition and examples Sound files to show the size of a decibel Standard reference levels ("absolute" sound level) Logarithmic response, psychophysical measures, sones and phons Recording level and decibels (dBV and dBm) Intensity, radiation and dB Pressure, intensity and specific impedance dBi and anisotropic radiation Example problems using dB for amplifier gain, speaker power, hearing sensitivity etc. Occupational health and safety and the law Related pages What is a logarithm? A brief introduction.

Definition and examples

The decibel ( dB) is used to measure sound level, but it is also widely used in electronics, signals and communication. The dB is a logarithmic unit used to describe a ratio. The ratio may be power, sound pressure, voltage or intensity or several other things. Later on we relate dB to the phon and the sone (units related to loudness). But first, to get a taste for logarithmic units, let's look at some numbers. (If you have forgotten, go to What is a logarithm?)

For instance, suppose we have two loudspeakers, the first playing a sound with power P1, and another playing a louder version of the same sound with power P2, but everything else (how far away, frequency) kept the same. The difference in decibels between the two is defined to be 10 log (P2/P1) dB where the log is to base 10.

If the second produces twice as much power than the first, the difference in dB is

10 log (P2/P1) = 10 log 2 = 3 dB.

as is shown on the graph, which plots 10 log (P2/P1) against P2/P1. To continue the example, if the second had 10 times the power of the first, the difference in dB would be

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

If the second had a million times the power of the first, the difference in dB would be

10 log (P2/P1) = 10 log 1,000,000 = 60 dB. This example shows one feature of decibel scales that is useful in discussing sound: they can describe very big ratios using numbers of modest size. But note that the decibel describes a ratio: so far we have not said what power either of the speakers radiates, only the ratio of powers. (Note also the factor 10 in the definition, which puts the 'deci' in decibel).
Sound pressure, sound level and dB. Sound is usually measured with microphones and they respond (approximately) proportionally to the sound pressure, p. Now the power in a sound wave, all else equal, goes as the square of the pressure. (Similarly, electrical power in a resistor goes as the square of the voltage.) The log of the square of x is just 2 log x, so this introduces a factor of 2 when we convert to decibels for pressures. The difference in sound pressure level between two sounds with p1 and p2 is therefore:

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

where again the log is to base

What happens when you halve the sound power? The log of 2 is 0.3, so the log of 1/2 is 0.3. So, if you halve the power, you reduce the power and the sound level by 3 dB. Halve it again (down to 1/4 of the original power) and you reduce the level by another 3 dB. If you keep on halving the power, you have these ratios.

What happens if I add two identical sounds? Do I double the intensity (increase of 3 dB)? Or do I double the pressure (increase of 6 dB)? This is a frequently asked question, and it is a little subtle, so it is here on our FAQ.

Sound files to show the size of a decibel

We saw above that halving the power reduces the sound pressure by root 2 and the sound level by 3 dB. That is exactly what we have done in the first graphic and sound file below.

The first sample of sound is white noise (a mix of all audible frequencies, just as white light is a mix of all visible frequencies). The second sample is the same noise, with the voltage reduced by a factor of the square root of 2. The reciprocal of the square root of 2 is approximatel y 0.7, so dB 3 corresponds to reducing the voltage or the pressure to 70% of its original value. The green line shows the voltage as a function of time. The red line shows a continuous exponential decay with time. Note that the voltage falls by 50% for every second sample.
Note, too,

that a doubling of the power does not make a huge difference to the loudness. We'll discuss this further below, but it's a useful thing to remember when choosing sound reproduction equipment.

Sound files and flash animation by John Tann and George Hatsidimitris. If this animation doesn't work, or if you want .wav files, go to No flash version How big is a decibel? In the next series, successive samples are reduced by just one decibel.

One decibel is close to the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) for sound level. As you listen to these files, you will notice that the last is quieter than the first, but it is rather less clear to the ear that the second of any pair is quieter than its predecessor. 10*log10(1.26) = 1, so to increase the sound level by 1 dB, the power must be increased by 26%, or the voltage by 12%. What if the difference is less than a decibel? Sound levels are rarely given with decimal places. The reason is that sound levels that differ by less than 1 dB are hard to distinguish, as the next example shows. You may notice that the last is quieter than the first, but it is difficult to notice the difference between successive pairs. 10*log10(1.07) = 0. 3, so to increase the sound level by 0.3 dB, the power must be increased by 7%, or the voltage by 3.5%.

Standard reference levels ("absolute" sound level)

We said above that the decibel is a ratio. So, when it is used to give the sound level for a single sound rather than a ratio, a reference level must be chosen. For sound pressure level, the reference level (for air) is usually chosen as 20 micropascals (20 Pa), or 0.02 mPa. (This is very low: it is 2 ten billionths of an atmosphere. Nevertheless, this is about the limit of sensitivity of the human ear, in its most sensitive range of frequency. Usually this sensitivity is only found in rather young people or in people who have not been exposed to loud music or other loud noises. Personal music systems with in-ear speakers ('walkmans') are capable of very high sound levels in the ear, and are believed by some to be responsible for much of the hearing loss in young adults in developed countries.)

So if you read of a sound pressure level of 86 dB, it means that 20 log (p2/p1) = 86 dB
where p1 is the sound pressure of the reference level, and p2 that of the sound in question. Divide both sides by 20:

log (p2/p1) = 4.3 p2/p1 = 104.3

4 is the log of 10 thousand, 0.3 is the log of 2, so this sound has a sound pressure 20 thousand times greater than that of the reference level (p2/p1 = 20,000). 86 dB is a loud but not dangerous level of sound, if it is not maintained for very long.

What does 0 dB mean? This level occurs when the measured intensity is equal to the reference level. i.e., it is the sound level corresponding to 0.02 mPa. In this case we have sound level = 20 log (pmeasured/preference) = 20 log 1 = 0 dB
Remember that decibels measure a ratio. 0 dB occurs when you take the log of a ratio of 1 (log 1 = 0). So 0 dB does not mean no sound, it means a sound level where the sound pressure is equal to that of the reference level. This is a small pressure, but not zero. It is also possible to have negative sound levels: - 20 dB would mean a sound with pressure 10 times smaller than the reference pressure, ie 2 Pa.

Not all sound pressures are equally loud. This is because the human ear does
not respond equally to all frequencies: we are much more sensitive to sounds in the frequency range about 1 kHz to 4 kHz (1000 to 4000 vibrations per second) than to very low or high frequency sounds. For this reason, sound meters are usually fitted with a filter whose response to frequency is a bit like that of the human ear. (More about these filters below.) If the "A weighting filter" is used, the sound pressure level is given in units of dB(A) or dBA. Sound pressure level on the dBA scale is easy to measure and is therefore widely used. It is still different from loudness, however, because the filter does not respond in quite the same way as the ear. To determine the loudness of a

sound, one needs to consult some curves representing the frequency response of the human ear, given below. (Alternatively, you can measure your own hearing response.)

Logarithmic response, psychophysical measures, sones and phons

Why do we use decibels? The ear is capable of hearing a very large range of sounds: the ratio of the sound pressure that causes permanent damage from short exposure to the limit that (undamaged) ears can hear is more than a million. To deal with such a range, logarithmic units are useful: the log of a million is 6, so this ratio represents a difference of 120 dB. Psychologists also say that our sense of hearing is roughly logarithmic (see under sones below). In other words, they think that you have to increase the sound intensity by the same factor to have the same increase in loudness. Whether you agree or not is up to you, because this is a rather subjective question. (Listen to the sound files linked above.)

The filters used for dBA and dBC

The most widely used sound level filter is the A scale, which roughly corresponds to the inverse of the 40 dB (at 1 kHz) equal-loudness curve. Using this filter, the sound level meter is thus less sensitive to very high and very low frequencies. Measurements made on this scale are expressed as dBA. The C scale is practically linear over several octaves and is thus suitable for subjective measurements only for very high sound levels. Measurements made on this scale are expressed as dBC. There is also a (rarely used) B weighting scale, intermediate between A and C. The figure below shows the response of the A filter (left) and C filter, with gains in dB given with respect to 1 kHz. (For an introduction to filters, see RC filters, integrators and differentiators.)

On the music acoustics and speech acoustics sites, we plot the sound spectra in dB. The reason for this common practice is that the range of measured sound pressures is large.

Loudness, phons and sones

The phon is a unit that is related to dB by the psychophysically measured frequency response of the ear. At 1 kHz, readings in phons and dB are, by definition, the same. For all other frequencies, the phon scale is determined by the results of experiments in which volunteers were asked to adjust the loudness of a signal at a given frequency until they judged its loudness to equal that of a 1 kHz signal. To convert from dB to phons, you need a graph of such results. Such a graph depends on sound level: it becomes flatter at high sound levels.

This graph, courtesy of Lindosland, shows the 2003 data from the International Standards Organisation for curves of equal loudness determined experimentally. Plots of equal loudness as a function of frequency are often generically called Fletcher-Munson curves after the original work by Fletcher, H. and Munson, W.A. (1933) J.Acoust.Soc.Am. 6:59.

The sone is derived from psychophysical measurements which involved volunteers adjusting sounds until they judge them to be twice as loud. This allows one to relate

perceived loudness to phons. A sone is defined to be equal to 40 phons. Experimentally it was found that a 10 dB increase in sound level corresponds approximately to a perceived doubling of loudness. So that approximation is used in the definition of the phon: 0.5 sone = 30 phon, 1 sone = 40 phon, 2 sone = 50 phon, 4 sone = 60 phon, etc.

Wouldn't it be great to be able to convert from dB (which can be measured by an instrument) to sones (which approximate loudness as perceived by people)? This is usually done using tables that you can find in acoustics handbooks. However, if you don't mind a rather crude approximation, you can say that the A weighting curve approximates the human frequency response at low to moderate sound levels, so dBA is very roughly the same as phons. Then use the logarithmic relation between sones and phons described above.

Recording level and decibels

Meters measuring recording or output level on audio electronic gear (mixing consoles etc) are almost always recording the AC rms voltage (see links to find out about AC and rms). For a given resistor R, the power P is V2/R, so difference in voltage level = 20 log (V2/V1) dB = 10 log (V22/V12) dB = 10 log (P2/P1) dB, or

absolute voltage level = 20 log (V/Vref)

where Vref is a reference voltage. So what is the reference voltage?

The obvious level to choose is one volt rms, and in this case the level is written as dBV. This is rational, and also convenient with modern analog-digital cards whose maximum range is often about one volt rms. So one has to remember to the keep the level in negative dBV (less than one volt) to avoid clipping the peaks of the signal, but not too negative (so your signal is still much bigger than the background noise). Sometimes you will see dBm. This used to mean decibels of electrical power, with respect to one milliwatt, and sometimes it still does. However, it's complicated for historical reasons. In the mid twentieth century, many audio lines had a nominal impedance of 600 . If the impedance is purely resisitive, and if you set V2/600 = 1 mW, then you get V = 0.775 volts. So, providing you were using a 600 load, 1 mW of power was 0 dBm was 0.775 V, and so you calibrated your level meters thus. The problem arose because, once a level meter that measures voltage is calibrated like this, it will read 0 dBm at 0.775 V even if it is not connected to 600 So, perhaps illogically, dBm will sometimes mean dB with respect to 0.775 V. (When I was a boy,
calculators were expensive so I used dad's old slide rule, which had the factor 0.775 marked on the cursor window to facilitate such calculations.)

How to convert dBV or dBm into dB of sound level? There is no simple way. It depends on how you convert the electrical power into sound power. Even if your electrical signal is connected directly to a loudspeaker, the conversion will depend on the efficiency and impedance of your loudspeaker. And of course there may be a power amplifier, and various acoustic complications between where you measure the dBV on the mixing desk and where your ears are in the sound field.

Intensity, radiation and dB

How does sound level (or radio signal level, etc) depend on distance from the source?

A source tht emits radiation equally in all directions is called isotropic. Consider an isolated source of sound, far from any reflecting surfaces -- perhaps a bird singing high in the air. Imagine a sphere with radius r, centred on the source. The source outputs a total power P, continuously. This sound power spreads out and is passing through the surface of the sphere. If the source is isotropic, the intensity I is the same everywhere on this surface, by definition. The intensity I is defined as the power per unit area. The surface area of the sphere is 4 r2, so the power (in our example, the sound power) passing through each square metre of surface is, by definition:
I = P/4 r2. So we see that, for an isotropic source, intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance away from the source: I2/I1 = r12/r22. But intensity is proportional to the square of the sound pressure, so we could equally write: p2/p1 = r1/r2. So, if we double the distance, we reduce the sound pressure by a factor of 2 and the intensity by a factor of 4: in other words, we reduce the sound level by 6 dB. If we increase r by a factor of 10, we decrease the level by 20 dB, etc.

Be warned, however, that many sources are not isotropic, especially if the wavelength is smaller than, or of a size comparable with the source. Further, reflections are often quite important, especially if the ground is nearby, or if you are indoors.

Pressure, intensity and specific impedance

For acoustic waves, the specific acoustic impedance z is defined as the ratio of the acoustic pressure p to the particle velocity u, z = p/u . In Acoustic impedance, intensity and power, we show how to relate RMS acoustic pressure p and intensity I: I = p2/z For air, the specific acoustic impedance z is 420 kg.s1.m2 = 420 Pa.s.m1. For (fresh) water, the specific acoustic impedance for water is 1.48 MPa.s.m1. So a

sound wave in water with the same pressure has a much lower intensity than one in air.

dBi and radiation that varies with direction

Radiation that varies in direction is called anisotropic. For many cases in communication, isotropic radiation is wasteful: why emit a substantial fraction of power upwards if the receiver is, like you, relatively close to ground level. For sound of short wavelength (including most of the important range for speech), a megaphone can help make your voice more anisotropic. For radio, a wide range of designs allows antennae to be highly anisotropic for both transmission and reception.

So, when you interested in emission in (or reception from) a particular direction, you want the ratio of intensity measured in that direction, at a given distance, to be higher than that measured at the same distance from an isotropic radiator (or received by an isotropic receiver). This ratio is called the gain; express the ratio in dB and you have the gain in dBi for that radiator. This unit is mainly used for antennae, either transmitting and receiving, but it is sometimes used for sound sources (and directional microphones).

Example problems
A few people have written asking for examples in using dB in calculations. So...

All else equal, how much louder is loudspeaker driven (in its linear range) by a 100 W amplifier than by a 10 W amplifier?

The powers differ by a factor of ten, which, as we saw above, is 10 dB. All else equal here means that the frequency responses are equal and that the same input signal is used, etc. So the frequency dependence should be the same. 10 dB corresponds to 10 phons. To get a perceived doubling of loudness, you need an increase of 10 phons. So the speaker driven by the 100 W amplifier is twice as loud as when driven by the 10 W, assuming you stay in the linear range and don't distort or destroy the speaker. (The 100 W amplifier produces twice as many sones as does the 10 W.)

I am standing at a distance R from a small source of sound (size much less than R), at ground level out in the open where reflections may be neglected. The sound level is L. If I now move to a distance nR (n a number, and nR still much greater than the size of the source), what will be the new sound level?

First, note that the neglect of reflections is very important. This calculation will not work inside a room, where reflections from the wall (collectively producing reverberation) make the calculation quite difficult. Out in the open, the sound intensity is proportional to 1/r2, where r is the distance from the source. (The constant of proportionality depends on how well the ground reflects, and doesn't concern us here, because it will cancel in the calculation.) So, if we increase r from R to nR, we decrease the intensity from I to I/n 2. The difference in decibels between the two signals of intensity I 2 and I 1 is defined above to be

L = 10 log (I2/I1) = 10 log ((I/n 2)/I) = 10 log (1/n 2) = 10 log (n 2) = 20 log n.

For example, if n is 2 (ie if we go twice as far away), the intensity is reduced by a factor of four and sound level falls from L to (L 6dB).

If, in ideal quiet conditions, a young person can hear a 1 kHz tone at 0 dB emitted by a loudspeaker (perhaps a softspeaker?), by how much must the power of the loudspeaker be increased to raise the sound to 110 dB (a dangerously loud but survivable level)?

The difference in decibels between the two signals of power P2 and P1 is defined above to be
L = 10 log (P2/P1) dB so, raising 10 to the power of these two equal quantities: 10L/10 = P2/P1 so: P2/P1 = 10110/10 = 1011 = one hundred thousand million. which is a demonstration that the human ear has a remarkably large dynamic range, perhaps 100 times greater than that of the eye.

An amplifier has an input of 10 mV and and output of 2 V. What is its voltage gain in dB?

Voltage, like pressure, appears squared in expressions for power or intensity. (The power dissipated in a resistor R is V2/R.) So, by convention, we define:
gain = 20 log (Vout/Vin) = 20 log (2V/10mV) = 46 dB
(In the acoustic cases given above, we saw that the pressure ratio, expressed in dB, was the same as the power ratio: that was the reason for the factor 20 when defining dB for pressure. It is worth noting that, in the voltage gain example, the power gain of the ampifier is unlikely to equal the voltage gain, which is defined by the convention used here. The power is proportional to the square of the voltage in a given resistor. However, the input and output impedances of amplifiers are often quite different. For instance, a buffer amplifier or emitter follower has a voltage gain of about 1, but a large current gain.)

Occupational health and safety

Different countries and provinces obviously have different laws concerning noise exposure at work, which are enforced with differing enthusiasm. Many such regulations have a limit for exposure to continuous noise of 85 dBA, for an 8 hour shift. For each 3 dB increase, the allowed exposure is halved. So, if you work in a nightclub where amplified music produces 100 dBA near your ears, the allowed exposure is 15 minutes. There is a limit for impulse noise like firearms or tools that use explosive shots. (e.g. 140 dB peak should not be exceeded at any time during the day.) There are many documents providing advice on how to reduce noise exposure at the source (ie turn the music level down), between the source and the ear (ie move away from the loudspeakers at a concert) and at the ear (ie wear ear plugs or industrial hearing

protectors). Noise management and protection of hearing at work is the code of practice in the state of New South Wales, Australia (the author's address).

Some FAQs

How loud is an aircraft? A train? A person singing? A dog barking? A power tool? The answers to this question vary considerably. It depends strongly upon how far away you are, whether you are indoors or not, whether there is reverberation, how strong the particular source is and what its spectrum is. To give values, without being very specific about the conditions, would be somewhat misleading. Because the rest of this page is intended to be reliable, as far as it goes, I'd rather not give values here. How does one "add decibels"?, meaning What sound level do you get when you add level a to level b? If the sources are coherent (which usually means that they ultimately come from the same source), then there may be complicated interference effects. In most cases, where the sources are independent, one can add the intensities and then convert to decibels. However, if you are given the sound levels in dBA, it is not so easy to go back to intensity, and one must know something about the spectrum of the sound. If you know the distribution of the sound in different frequency bands, you can use the applet on this link. Some of the questions on our FAQ in music acoustics relate to decibels, including o Why do the sounds of two musical instruments always reinforce, and never cancel out? o How much does one more violin add to the sound level of a section of n violins? o Does adding two equal sounds give an increase of 3 or 6 dB? Why? o What is the loudest sound?

Related pages

Measure your own hearing response Adding sound levels from incoherent sources What are interference beats and Tartini tones? FAQ in music acoustics Loudness and spectra: how spectral content and other features are related to loudness Formants: what are they? A discussion of the different meanings of this term Music acoustics home page Physclips: a multi-level, multimedia introduction to mechanics. A list of other educational web sites from this author

What is a logarithm? A brief introduction.

First let's look at exponents. If we write 102 or 103 , we mean 102 = 10*10 = 100 and 103 = 10*10*10 = 1000.

So the exponent (2 or 3 in our example) tells us how many times to multiply the base (10 in our example) by itself. For this page, we only need logarithms to base 10, so that's all we'll discuss. In these examples, 2 is the log of 100, and 3 is the log of 1000. In a multiplication calculation like those above, 101 would mean that there is only one 10 in the product, so 1 is the log of 10, or in other words 101 = 10. We can also have negative logarithms. When we write 10 2 we mean 0.01, which is 1/100, so 10 n = 1/10n Let's go one step more complicated. Let's work out the value of (102)3. This is easy enough to do, one step at a time: (102)3 = (100)3 = 100*100*100 = 1,000,000 = 106. By writing it out, you should convince yourself that, for any whole numbers n and m, (10n)m = 10nm. But what if n is not a whole number? Since the rules we have used so far don't tell us what this would mean, we can define it to mean what we like, but we should choose our definition so that it is consistent. The definition of the logarithm of a number a (to base 10) is this: 10log a = a. In other words, the log of the number a is the power to which you must raise 10 to get the number a. For an example of a number whose log is not a whole number, let's consider the square root of 10, which is 3.1623..., in other words 3.16232 = 10. Using our definition above, we can write this as 3.16232 = (10log 3.1623)2 = 10

log10x vs x.

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Vn th v ny c tranh ci nhiu v mi ln nh vy ti li nh n thy dy in t cn bn II. ng ta thng thay i cch tnh cc con s bng hnh nh v cu ni ca ng ta v dB nh sau: "dB ch l mt n v trong php so snh t l". DB ban u dng o mc m thanh nhng c s dng rng ri trong ngnh in t, tnh hiu v truyn thng. V l mt gi tr so snh nn n lun i hi phi c 2 i tng so snh v ch 2 i tng. Khi 2 i tng so snh c cng nh nhau s c biu tng l 0DB. Zero dB y khng ni ln ln hay nh hoc l KHNG C M THANH m ch ni ln l i tng so snh v i tng dng so snh c cng (c so snh) bng nhau. Cng v vy +,- dB cng khng ni ln ln hay nh m ni ln l cng ca i tng so snh ln hay nh hn cng (c so snh) ca i tng so snh. 20 log (p2/p1) dB =10 log (p2^2/p1^2) dB=10 log (P2/P1) dB Ti sao li c khi 10 c khi 20 v p (nh), P (ln) y? Theo Tubes th s bin i t 10 ra 20 da vo P=U*U/R hon ton ng, nhng cng l bin th. Ngc li NVL cho rng l do t l bin i t "thanh p" vi "cng sut" cng c phn ng nhng khng chnh xc lm. Thc t cng thc trn bin i t 20 sang 10 do t l bnh phng gia "sound pressure" vi "sound level". C l NVL dch sound pressure l "thanh p" cn sound level tuy khng ng ngha vi cng sut nhng n c tnh trn nng lng ca sng m thanh. m thanh tng t 2dB ln 4dB khng chc g s cho cm nhn rng m thanh tng ln gp i. 1dB c xem l Just Noticeable Difference (JND) gn nh khng th phn bit c bi tay ngi thng thng. ng thi l lun logart ha nhm chuyn i php nhn ra php cng cng c th ng y nhng khng chnh xc. Thng thng th k thut vin lm vic vi dB khng lm bi ton logarit m s dng php cng t mt im cho trc (thay th php logarit bng php cng, tr). lm c iu ny ktv phi c mt chun, v d output A th c 3dB. Nu iu chnh bn trong my tng gp i out-put ln 2A th s c 6dB. Nu tng thm gp i na, 4A s c 9dB (B qua sai s). Bi ton tr th tnh ngc li. Tt nhin y ktv ch c th iu chnh output hoc tnh nhanh power level ch input th gn nh lun c nh t mt ngun khc khng th iu khin.

Tuy nhin Logarit c lin quan n hai phng php bin i nhn chia ra cng tr l integral v diffirencial. Integrated l cng ly tin din tch ca mt tch trong c mt gi tr c nh delta-x d nh gii hn s bin thin ca y. V d n gin nht l qung ng i c bng din tch bn di th ca vn tc v thi gian. C vic phi i ngay, gp sau. ============== V mt l do no m n v Decibel khng c a thch v hiu lm bi rt nhiu ngi, gm c cc k s, th my v cc tay iu khin v tuyn nghip d. Th m n v ny li c dng rt rng ri trong nhiu ti liu v cc trang c tnh. Bi c ny bt u vi cm gic v s quan st, s tip xc, v thnh gic. Ngi c ngy xa rn rn trong rng rm lng nghe nhng m thanh to ra cc du hiu gip h tm ra thc phm v bit trnh n c th d. H nghe c nhng m thanh yu t v cng c th nghe c nhng ting ng ln ca mun th, ting cy , ting t l. H thng tai nghe ha hp nhng m thanh ny thnh mt khon nn trnh b qu ti thng tin a vo tm no. m thanh c nng lng gp i s khng c nghe ln gp i. Nng lng ca ting l xo xc th yu hn rt nhiu ln cy . Nu tai ca chng ta (v nhng gic quan khc) tip thu ln ting ng theo t l thun th loi ngi au n n cht. Tai ta cn c nhy cao c th nghe c c nhng m thanh rt yu. Nu tai vn gi nguyn nhy vi m thanh th ta s in u khng chu ng ni vi nhng ting ng ln. V vy nhy ca tai gim i nhiu ln vi ln m thanh. Nhng chic my khuch i m thanh u tin dng n v ra ph hp vi tai ngi ch khng phi theo cng sut my. nghe c m thanh c ln gp i, cng sut ngun m cn phi ln hn 10 ln. V d: nghe c m thanh ln gp i, cng sut pht tng 10 ln. nghe ln gp i m thanh trc tng cng sut thm 10 ln na. -> Tng cng l 100 ln nghe ln thm gp i, cng sut tng thm 10 ln na. -> Tng cng cng sut m pht tng 1000 ln. Bn c th thy c cch din t cng sut m thanh ny rt cng knh. Do c th c vit vi cch khc, thun tin hn: nghe m ln gp i - tng cng sut pht 101 nghe m ln gp i ln na - tng cng sut pht 102

 nghe m ln gp i thm ln na- tng cng sut pht 103 (101 = 10, 102 = 100, 103 = 1000) Ta c th thy n v thun tin dng l ch s ca 10. n v ny c gi l Bel, t tn Alexander Graham Bell. Bel l n v so snh. Ta dng n, ging nh mc m thanh, c th so snh cc mc dng in, in th v cng sut. Trong ton Bel l: BEL = Log(P1/P2) P1 v P2 l 2 mc cng sut c so snh. Log ca mt s l s m (hoc l ch s) m 10 c ly tha ln c c s . Logarithm Cch vit gn trong ton din t Log ca mt s c tm l Log(N). C s cho logarithm dng trong Bel l 10. Cc c s khc c th c dng nhng khng cp trong bi ny. Nu c s nhm ln trong cc vit v c s th cc vit ngn Log(N) v Ln(N) tng trng cho Log c s 10 v Log c s e= 2.7 (log t nhin) Log(N) din t mt s m ca c s 10 iu ta cn ch n. Ln din t s m ca c s ''e'' (e = 2.71828). Trong sut phn cn li ca bi ny ta ch cn n Log c s 10. 101 = 10 v vy Log(10) l 1 102 = 100 v vy Log(100) l 2 103 = 1000 v vy Log(1000) l 3 10-1 = 1/10 v vy Log(0.1) l -1 10-2 = 1/100 v vy Log(0.01) l -2 10-3 = 1/1000 v vy Log(0.001) l -3 Log ca 1000 l bao nhiu? Hay ni cch khc, 10 ly tha ln bao nhiu c 10000? Tr li l 4 v 104 l 10 x 10 x 10 x10 = 10000. Log ca s t 1 n 10 c gi tr trong khong t 0 v 1. Log ca s t 10 n 100 c gi tr t 1 n 2, v Log ca s t 100 n 1000 l t 2 n 3. tm ra cc gi tr gia, ta mt thi phi dng n bng log tra. May mn, ngy nay ta c my tnh. Th tnh cc s sau bng my tnh Log(10) = 1, Log(50) = 1.698, Log(250) = 2.3979 My tnh ca bn chc c nt ''Log''. Nhn vo 10 v sau nhn ''Log'' v bn s c 1. Nhn vo 50 v nhn ''Log" bn s c 1.698.

Tm Antilog ca mt s l i s thnh thnh s ban u. Antilog ca 2 l 100 Antilog ca 3 l 1000 Antilog ca 1.5 = 31.622 (101.5) Logarith rt c li dng trong v tuyn. Nhiu thit b kim tra o lng c mc cn chnh theo logarithm tng phm vi gi tr hin th trn thang o. Phm vi hin th thang o l t gi tr nh nht n gi tr ln nht. Tr Li Vi Bel Nu cng sut P1 l 30W v P2 l 2W (y l s thay i cng sut t 2 n 30 watt, tc tng 15 ln) th s thay i theo hm log l Log(30/2) = Log(15) = 1.1761 Bels (th i). Bel l n v qu ln. Thun tin hn l dng on v mt phn 10 ca Bel, ta gi Decibel hoc dB. 10dB = 1 Bel Cng thc bn s lun dng tnh s khc nhau ca cc mc cng sut trong decibel l: dB = 10Log(P1/P2) Bn nn nh cng thc ny. Khi cng sut tng 15 ln th s thay i l 11.76 dB (nh ta tnh trn, nhn thm 10) V vy, mt s thay i 11.76 dB tc l cng sut tng 15 ln. V d: T 2W to 30W l 11.76 dB. T 2mW n 30 mW l 11.76dB T 10W n 150W l 11.76dB. Khi gim i du tr c thm vo. Khi gim t 15W xung 1W (gim i 15 ln) l s thay i -11.76dB. Vit mt cch khc, 1W l 11.76dB di 15W. Dng Decibels Vi in Th v Dng Ta bit rng cng sut l E2/R hoc I2R, v vy P1/P2 = E12/E22 = (E1/E2)2 = I12/I22 = (I1/I2)2 ngha ny din t s thay i 2 mc in th v 2 mc dng in. Cng thc phi c chnh li l 20 thay v 10. dB = 20Log(E1/E2) E1 v E2 l 2 mc in th ta mun din t s thay i theo decibel.

dB = 20Log(I1/I2) I1 v I2 lm 2 mc dng ta mun din ta s thay i theo decibel. V d, gi s mt tn hiu ng vo mt my khuch i c mc in th l 2 Vn. ng ra ca my khuch i, tn hiu mc 50 Vn. Th th h s khuch i ca my theo decibel lm bao nhiu? dB = 20 Log(E1/E2) = 20 Log(50/2) = 20 Log(25) = 20 x 1.3979 = 27.95 My khuch i c khuch i in th l chng 28 dB. Nn nh l dng ''20'' trong cng thc ca in th v dng v ''10'' trong cng sut. Gi s mt trm pht nghip d c cng sut pht l 25 watt. Ngi iu khin ni thm mt my khuch i lm tng cng sut pht ra an-ten t 25W ln 200W. Vy khuch i ca my khuch i l bao nhiu? dB = 10 Log(P1/P2) dB = 10 Log(200/25) dB = 10Log(8) dB = 10 x 0.903089 dB = 9.03 B khuch i c khuch i chng 9dB. Decibel khng phi n v o lng mt gi tr thun no . Decibel l mt n v o lng t s ca 2 i lng. Tht v ngha khi ni rng cng sut hoc in th (hoc ci g ) l nhiu decibel. My khuch i tng mc cng sut, v vy ta c th ni mt my khuch i c khuch i ( li - gain) l xx decibel. B gim (attenuator) gim cng sut, v vy ta ni n c gim (loss) l xx decibel. Cc an-ten c th tng cng sut truyn bng cch tp trung s pht x thnh mt tia nh - ging nh ta c th tng lc nc trong ng dn bng cc t mt vi chnh tia nc. Vy an-ten c li din t bng decibel. Cc mc o lng cc s nh in th, dng, cng sut l s thun. o Lng Gi Tr Thun Bng Decibel T u ta ni n dB nh mt phng php so snh 2 gi tr. Tuy nhin, c mt s lin h n v m ta c th dng dB din t gi tr thun. lm th, ta cn cho mt im gi tr chun, nh l 1W. Nu mc chun l 1 watt th n v c gi l dBW. So 3dBW l 3dB trn mc 1 watt. v -3dBW l 3dB di 1 watt. Ta khng cn bit mc ch ca v d ny, tuy nhin bn s thy n, bn s hiu su hn v decibel nu bn bit c n. n v thun v hu ch c dng trong ngnh v tuyn vin thng l dBm, l gi tr ca decibel mc trn hoc di 1 miliwatt.

dBm = 10Log(P/1mW) V d, T s truyn ca 50W tnh bng dBm l g? tnh 50W bng dBm ta dng cng thc trn: dBm = 10Log(50/1mW) dBm = 10Log(50000) dBm = 46.98 dBm (thng c lm trn thnh 47 dBm) y lm mt bi th d nn nh v c nhiu my pht vi cng sut 50W. By gi, gp i cng sut l tng 3dB. T v d trn khi nghe ni my c cng sut l 50dBm ta bit ngay my c cng sut l 100W, hoc 44dBm th my c cng sut l 25W. Nh rng, nu bn tng cng sut 3dB, bn gp i cng sut. Mt n v khc thng dng l decibel lin h n vn hoc micro-vn. din t ci g bng decibel so snh vi 1vn (dBV), bn t 1 vn mu s. din t bng n v dBuV, bn c 1uV mu s ca cng thc tnh dB. Di y l cng thc tnh mt s bng decibel so vi 1 vn. dbV = 20Log(E/1vn) Nh rng khi dng in th hay dng th nhn vi 20 thay v 10 trong cng thc ca cng sut. Decibel l t s. Nhng tay m vin thng thng dng decibel m khng nhc n t s, iu cng c. Nhng nh rng bn khng th ni, v d, ci my pht ny l 30dB y l mt cu v ngha. Bn nn ni n 30dB cao hn hay thp hn lc u. Bn cng c th ni, ti nh gim cng sut truyn i 3dB (-3dB). Ni gn li, ti s cho bn mt v d ca mt h thng v tuyn dng decibel, v ti chc bn s thy im li. D cch ny khng thng dng trong gii nghip d nhng n hu ch cho mi ngi khc. Cho v d rng bn cn bit mt phng trnh cn bn tnh t s in th hoc cng sut bng decibel. Bn c th thc mc tng v gim gi tr dB ngha l g. V d, ta ni trn khi cng sut tng gp i l tng 3dB, vy lm sao i ngc 3dB tr li t l gp i dB = 10log(t s), t s = antilog(dB/10) Hy th n n vi 3dB (t s) = Antilog(3/10) (t s) = Antilog(0.3) (t s) = 2 (dng my tnh) Ta lm ton tnh ngc bit rng 3dB l mt s gia tng gp 2, trong khi -3dB l s gim mt na.

Nn nh vi in th v dng dng 20 ch khng phi 10. Ti bit ti ch ni i ni li hoi NHNG l li rt thng gp ca nhiu sinh vin. Bi xt nghim khng cn bn tnh ton. D y l cch tnh d nht theo ti nhng bn cn bit mt vi s m thng thng cc tnh t l in th/dng bng dB. Bng 1 di y c mt s t l quan trng ng nh bng decibel T l cng sut Decibel T l cng sut Decibel Mt phn ngn -30 Mt phn tm -9 Mt phn trm -20 Mt phn t -6 Mt phn 10 -10 Mt phn hai -3 Mt 0 Mt 0 Mi ln +10 Gp i +3 Mt trm ln +20 Gp bn +6 Mt ngn ln +30 Gp tm +9 Bng trn l bng t s ca cng sut (khng phi ca in th hay dng) Vy tng ca cng sut ln 5 ln tnh lm sao? Bn c th nhn bn trn bit c 10 ln l +10dB, v mt na ca n l tr i 3dB, vy 5 ln l 10dB - 3db = 7dB. Bn s thch th hn nu bn c th nh c 2 cng thc c bn ca cng sut v in th/dng. Ti ngh tnh theo cch trn d hn lm bm my 10log(5) = 6.989 dB Khi mt in th tng t 1 n 100 vn, s thay i bng dB l g? 20log(100) = 40 dB By gi bn c th rt mun bit ti sao li lm phin vi cc s dB. Hmm, n ging nh cc n v o lng thng thng khc - mt khi bn dng n s thy n tht d dng. Cc thit b kim tra c cn chnh thng xuyn bng decibel. Lm sao o c li (hay mt) ca an-ten bng decibel? Mt b lc ni vi b pht c mt (loss) tnh bng decibel. Vi ti, khi ni cng sut b pht l +50dBm, ti bit ngay l 100W, v decibel th thc t hn. Tng cng sut pht t 100W n 120W th khng ng k. N ch c v quan trng v 120 c v ln hn 100 rt nhiu, v sau ht n hn c 20W! N khng c ngha g c, nhng vi mt s ngi n cho mt cm gic m cng. y l v d v cch dng decibel. Xem s khi trong hnh di ca h thng pht v nhn.

S l ton h thng pht v nhn. Cc khi pathloss tng trng cho s mt mt trn ng lan truyn. Khi line loss tng trng cho s mt mt trn dy cp dn (coax,..) Cc b lc (filter) cng lm gim i tn hiu v h s mt cng c cho bit. Cng sut pht

dng dBm (100W). By gi, nu b qua decibel v ti hi bn cho bit cng sut c nhn. Tht l kh gii. Cng sut ra sau khi c khuch i ln 6dB ca my nhn l bao nhiu? n gin thi, ch cng tr. 50-2-5+10-100+10-3-2-6=-36dBm D th thi sao. -36dBm l mt tn hiu mnh, cn nu l -120dBm th l tn hiu yu vi tn hiu nhiu. N tm li, ti hy vng gip bn hiu v gi tr ca decibel. n li: Cng sut: dB = 10log(P1/P2) in th hoc dng: dB = 20log(V1/V2) hoc 20log(I1/I2)