Decibel

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Decibel

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1. A dimensionless measure of the ratio of two powers, equal to 10 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of two powers P₁/P₂. </dd>
2. One-tenth of a bel. </dd>
The power P₂ may be some reference power; in electricity, the reference power is sometimes taken as 1 milliwatt (abbr dbm); in acoustics, the decibel is often taken as 20 times the common logarithm of the sound pressure ratio, with the reference pressure as 0.0002 dyne per square centimeter. </dd>

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use