Introduction to Decibel
Sound that one can hear is a conversion of the sound wave into vibrations. Ideally, the it is calculated in decibels represented as dB. It shows the ratio falling between two quantities that are either electric power or acoustic. A decibel calculator is used to measure the intensity of the sound waves.
This decibel (dB) is reflected in a logarithmic unit that further measures the loudness of sound. Electronics, communication ways, signals and decibel equation are primarily used to find the exact range.
Students, by reading this section, will understand how and what measures decibels. Alongside, they will also learn the definition of related equations and formulas.
What is a Decibel Meter?
Sound, which is a vibration, can be measured by using state-of-the-art devices like a decibel calculator. It measures samples and calculates the range that can suit a human ear. These meters can also measure sound levels. Devices like smartphone are comfortable in measuring as they produce a sound range which protects the ears.
To understand what is dB meter or how it works, a student must know the basics os decibel unit. Ideally, the term decibel represents a unit that expresses ratios of two quantities, intensity and power.
The instrument to measure sound decibels considers one decibel, which is one-tenth of one bel. This is an attribution to the famous work by Alexander Graham Bell.
What is the Purpose of Decibel?
As we know, a human ear is a vital organ that resonates sound waves. The system inside has a brilliant set up that reduces its sensitivity level with the change in sound range. This remarkable organ can handle enormous sound levels and pick up small sound ranges like a pin dropping.
The decibel meter uses a display that projects a decibel range and its appropriate decree for the ear. This indicates here how upper range is caught better than the quiet part. When evaluated one can understand what device measures decibels and the difficulty of manufacturing a sound wave with a linear variable.
Hence, this expression of sound levels via a decibel calculator is described through a logarithm scale as it is more manageable. Here the base is 10, not in a linear form. This scales is also termed as decibel scale.
An excellent way to understand what does a decibel meter measure, young learners must learn the formula associated with a sound wave.
Formulas to Calculate Decibel
To estimate the intensity of a sound wave, a student can utilise the values like energy-transportation rate per unit area. This is again equivalent to the average power of each unit area. This expression is represented in watts per square meter.
Another way to determine decibel is to express sound power via a decibel scale. This uses the logarithmic utility to portray a bigger scale of intensity without a hassle. Here the unit scale is termed as a decibel or dB.
This equation can be represented by:
The intensity of sound in decibels is 10 dB × log (II0). Here dB stands for decibels, log stands for logarithm and II0 expresses sound intensity or reference intensity.
Apart from these concepts, a student needs to understand sound, sound wave characteristics, pitch, etc. These concepts are also related to decibels and concepts like what is sound meter.
This topic carries a significant weightage, and studying it thoroughly can help students to score easy marks. Instead of relying on unverified online sources and irrelevant study material, they can get in touch with prominent e-learning platforms like Vedantu.
Vedantu can be a helping hand for students, as it offers subject focus notes prepared by experts, test papers, exercises and more on decibel calculator and its usage. A student can join the live classes and resolve their query with doubt clearing sessions with subject experts.
FAQs on Decibel
1. Why Should an Employer Maintain a Sound Level in the Workplace?
Ans: Maintaining a sound level or reducing decibels creates a better working environment for the workers. This makes an effective way of protecting an employee’s mental health as well. It is a proven fact that noise adds to the stress levels of the workplace. High pitched noise interferes with regular communication and causes distraction in offices. Therefore, maintaining sound levels is a necessity in the work field.
2. What do you Mean by Sound?
Ans: Sounds can be termed as vibrations produced by any source. Ideally, it travels via mediums like water or air. It is seen that sound waves are acoustic which can proliferate via land or ground.
A human body can catch these sound waves which pass through the ear canal gradually reaching the eardrum. Here these waves are converted into vibrations. Further, these vibrations get transformed into electrical signals that are understood by the brain. Human ears generally catch a sound wave with a frequency between 20 to 20,000 Hz. Interestingly; one can also perceive sound that passes an interval. Such sound is generally felt than heard.
3. What was the Loudest Sound Heard Ever on Earth?
Ans. According to a study, Krakota is believed to be the loudest sound ever produced on earth. It is said that this sound travelled around the globe four times and shattered in every direction hurting the ears of sailors. This phenomenon reached nearly 40 miles, shocking the listeners. This volcano erupted with a high intensity sending elevated sound waves thousands of meters away. Humanity has experienced this phenomenon once which occurred miles away in Krakota. There are also events like Tunguska, which flattened nearly 80,000 trees and broke window glasses. Ideally, the loudest sound in air is 194 dB with a pressure deviation of 101.325 kPa. Here the loudness is calculated by estimating the amplitude of wave against air pressure.
