9.3 DECIBELS ●
Power Levels
The concept of the decibel (dB) and the associated calculations will become increasingly
important in the remaining sections of this chapter. The term decibel has its origin in the
fact that power and audio levels are related on a logarithmic basis. That is, an increase in
power level from, say, 4 W to 16 W does not result in an audio level increase by a factor of
164 4, but by a factor of 2, as derived from the power of 4 in the following manner:
(4) 2 16. For a change of 4 W to 64 W, the audio level will increase by a factor of 3
because (4) 3 64. In logarithmic form, the relationship can be written as log4 64 = 3.
The term bel is derived from the surname of Alexander Graham Bell. For standardization,
the bel (B) is defined by the following equation relating two power levels, P 1 and P 2 :