dB is the abbreviation of "decibel" in English, where deci means one-tenth and Bel means "Bei".
Decibel, a decibel is one tenth of a bel. "Bei" is the abbreviation of "Bell" and is a unit named after the outstanding scientist Alexander Graham Bell. Bell obtained a patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876 and made a huge breakthrough in the application and development of the telephone.
Bel is not a unit of the International System of Units, but due to the rules of the International System of Units, the first letter of the unit symbol represented by a person's name must be capitalized, so people see that the B in dB should be capitalized. Since the unit "Bel" is relatively large and inconvenient to use, the more commonly used unit is one-tenth of a Bel, which is decibel.
Today in the field of audio engineering and acoustics, engineers and sound engineers use the word dB almost every day. For example, "attenuate 1000Hz by 3dB", "pull up the fader by 3dB" or "the sensitivity of this speaker is 98dB SPL". It can be said that dB is a ubiquitous unit in the audio industry.
Introduction to the application scope of decibels:
1. Acoustics: Decibels are used in acoustics to measure and compare the intensity and volume of sound. For example, decibels can be used to measure music volume, environmental noise, industrial noise, etc. Decibel can also be used to assess the auditory perception of sound, such as the degree of hearing loss.
2. Communications: Decibel is used to measure and compare the strength of wireless signals, electrical signals, etc. In wireless communications, decibels can be used to evaluate signal quality, signal transmission range, etc. In electronic engineering, decibels are also used to measure and compare signal power, gain, etc. in circuits.
3. Environmental noise: Decibel can be used to measure and evaluate the level of environmental noise to understand the impact of noise on human health and the environment. This is of great significance for urban planning, transportation planning, industrial environment monitoring, etc.
4. Audio engineering: In audio engineering, decibels are used to measure and adjust the input and output levels of audio equipment. For example, it is used to control the sound level in concerts, concerts, theaters and other places to ensure the appropriate strength of the audio signal.
5. Medicine: Decibel can be used to measure and evaluate the sound level of medical equipment, such as the noise level of medical instruments and equipment. At the same time, decibels are also used to evaluate environmental noise that has potential effects on human health.