TERMIUM Plus®

The Government of Canada’s terminology and linguistic data bank.

decibel [1 record]

Record 1 2003-09-09

English

Subject field(s)
  • Audio Technology
  • Acoustics (Physics)
DEF

One-tenth of a bel, the number of decibels denoting the ratio of the two amounts of power being ten times the logarithm to the base 10 of this ratio.

CONT

The decibel is a unit of difference in levels of electronic quantities. It is not a unit of measurement but rather compares high and low levels of power, voltage or current. The unit bel is not used. Instead one-tenth of a bel, the decibel, is commonly used.

OBS

decibel; dB: terms standardized by the CSA. Material reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), 178 Rexdale Blvd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M9W 1R3. However, CSA shall not be responsible for the manner in which the information is presented, nor for any interpretations thereof. This CSA material may not have been updated to reflect amendments subsequently made to the original content. For further information, contact CSA.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Électroacoustique
  • Acoustique (Physique)
CONT

Bel; Décibel : Unités sans dimensions utilisées, essentiellement, pour exprimer le rapport des valeurs de deux puissances, le nombre de bels étant égal au logarithme décimal de ce rapport. Le décibel est le dixième du bel. [Terme normalisé par l'AFNOR et citation reproduite avec son autorisation.]

CONT

L'unité courante est le dixième de bel, c'est-à-dire le décibel (dB). [...] En acoustique, les niveaux de pression, les niveaux d'intensité, les niveaux de puissance et les isolements sont mesurés en décibels.

Spanish

Campo(s) temático(s)
  • Electroacústica
  • Acústica (Física)
DEF

Unidad de medida de la magnitud de una presión acústica. Es la décima parte de un bel, y consiste en una relación logarítmica entre la presión media de un sonido y una presión acústica de referencia.

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