Physics › Section L · Sound and hearing › Topic L.2
Sound intensity and decibels
Your ears cope with sounds ranging from the faintest they can detect to the threshold of pain, a trillion-fold spread in intensity. Intensity measures that power physically, and the decibel scale squeezes its huge range into numbers that match how loud things seem.
In this topic
- How strong is a sound?
- Intensity and pressure amplitude
- Why a logarithmic scale?
- Worked example: from intensity to decibels and back
- Two rules worth knowing
- Worked example: a workshop of machines
- Spreading out: the inverse-square law
- Worked example: an outdoor loudspeaker
- Everyday levels and hearing safety
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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