Sound Intensity

Sound intensity or acoustic intensity (I) is defined as the sound power Pac per unit area A. The usual context is the noise measurement of sound intensity in the air at a listener's location as a sound energy quantity.

Sound intensity is not the same physical quantity as sound pressure. Hearing is directly sensitive to sound pressure which is related to sound intensity. In consumer audio electronics, the level differences are called "intensity" differences, but sound intensity is a specifically defined quantity and cannot be sensed by a simple microphone.

Read more about Sound Intensity:  Acoustic Intensity, Spatial Expansion, Sound Intensity Level

Famous quotes containing the words sound and/or intensity:

    The mastery of one’s phonemes may be compared to the violinist’s mastery of fingering. The violin string lends itself to a continuous gradation of tones, but the musician learns the discrete intervals at which to stop the string in order to play the conventional notes. We sound our phonemes like poor violinists, approximating each time to a fancied norm, and we receive our neighbor’s renderings indulgently, mentally rectifying the more glaring inaccuracies.
    W.V. Quine (b. 1908)

    To revolt is a natural tendency of life. Even a worm turns against the foot that crushes it. In general, the vitality and relative dignity of an animal can be measured by the intensity of its instinct to revolt.
    Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876)