Definition
A decibel (dB) is one tenth of a bel (B), i.e., 1B = 10dB. The bel represents a ratio between two power quantities of 10:1, and a ratio between two field quantities of . A field quantity is a quantity such as voltage, current, sound pressure, electric field strength, velocity and charge density, the square of which in linear systems is proportional to power. A power quantity is a power or a quantity directly proportional to power, e.g., energy density, acoustic intensity and luminous intensity.
The calculation of the ratio in decibels varies depending on whether the quantity being measured is a power quantity or a field quantity.
Two signals that differ by one decibel have a power ratio of 1.25892 (or ) and an amplitude ratio of 1.12202 (or ).
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