Demonstration 4. The decibel scale (1:57)

Broadband noise is reduced in ten steps of six dB

Noise 10 by 6dB

Broadband noise is reduced in fifteen steps of 3 dB

Noise 15 by 3dB

Broadband noise is reduced in twenty steps of 1 dB

Noise 20 by 1dB

Free field speech of constant power

Speech from the mic

In the first part of this demonstration, we hear broadband noise reduced in steps of 6, 3, and 1 dB in order to obtain a feeling for the decibel scale. In the latter part, a voice is heard at distances of 25, 50, 100, and 200 cm from an omni-directional microphone in an anechoic room. Under these conditions, the sound pressure level decreases about 6 dB each time the distance is doubled. (In a normal room this will not be the case, since considerable sound energy reaches the microphone via reflections from walls, ceiling, floor, and objects within the room.)