: The scale is not linear. An increase of 10 dB represents a 10-fold increase in sound intensity and roughly a doubling of perceived loudness.
, the threshold of human hearing. In digital audio, (Full Scale) measures signal level relative to the maximum a system can handle before clipping. Examples of Common Decibel Levels Decibel
: Adding a second identical sound source (e.g., two identical 60 dB vacuum cleaners) increases the total level by only 3 dB , resulting in 63 dB, not 120 dB. : The scale is not linear
Because the scale is logarithmic, you cannot simply add decibel numbers together. In digital audio, (Full Scale) measures signal level
: Named after Alexander Graham Bell, a decibel is literally one-tenth of a "Bel". The Bel itself was found to be too large for common precision.