Re: Soaking test results

[bf890@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Scott Shepard)]

>Also, a Decibel is not an absolute measurement of sound, i.e. 120 dB
>damages hearing, etc.  This is a mistake, and should be dBm, or decibels
>referenced to one milliwatt of acoustic energy.  Remember - dB is a RATIO
>(i.e. twice as loud - but as WHAT?).  By anchoring it to a standard (dBm,
>or "twice as loud as 1 milliwatt"), we now have a way to express absolute

Very good discussion of decibels, a very potentially confusing subject.

ONe clarification:  when dealing with acoustical measurements, especially
sound level meters, we are measureing a thing called Sound Pressure Level 
(SPL), which is actually based on the ratio of two sound pressures, the 
reference pressure being 0.0002 dyne/cm^2, about the threshold of hearing
for most folk.  dBm is actually used more for electronics.

Sorry, I'm an acoustical consultant, can't resist...

Scott