Decible

What is decibel?
The decible (dB) is a logarithmic unit
used to express the ratio of two values
of a physical quantity.
In the International System of Quantities, the
decibel is defined as a unit of measurement for
quantities of type level or level difference, which
are defined as the logarithm of the ratio of power-
or field-type quantities.
The definition of the decibel is
based on the measurement of power
in telephony of the early 20th century in the Bell
System in the United States. One decibel is one
tenth of one bel, named in honor of Alexander
Graham Bell. However, the bel is seldom used.
Today, the decibel is used for a wide variety of
measurements in science and engineering, most
prominently in acoustics, electronics, and control
theory. In electronics, the gains of
amplifiers, attenuation of signals, and signal-to-
noise ratios are often expressed in decibels.
 One of these values is often a standard
reference value, in which case the decibel is
used to express the level of the other value
relative to this reference.

The decibel symbol is often qualified with a

suffix that indicates the reference quantity that
has been used or some other property of the
quantity being measured. For
example, dBm indicates a reference power of
one milliwatt, while dBV is referenced to
1 volt RMS.

What is dBm?
The decibel-milliwatts (dBm): an
abbreviation for the power ratio
in decibels (dB) of the measured power
referenced to one milliwatt (mW).
It is used in radio, microwave and fiber-optical
networks as a convenient measure of
absolute power because of its capability to
express both very large and very small values
in a short form. Compare dBW, which is
referenced to one watt (1000 mW).
 It is referenced to the watt, it is an absolute
unit, used when measuring absolute power. By
comparison, the decibel (dB) is
a dimensionless unit, used for quantifying the
ratio between two values, such as signal-to-
noise ratio.

In audio and telephony, dBm is typically

referenced relative to 600-ohm
impedance, while in radio-frequency work dBm
is typically referenced relative to 50-ohm
impedance.

What is dB?
The decibel-microvolts
(dB): electric field strength relative
to 1 microvolt and the decibel
(logarithmic) representation of voltage
above or below one microvolt across a
load.
dB(V/m) electric field strength relative
to 1 microvolt per meter. Often used to
specify the signal strength from
a television broadcast at a receiving site
 (the signal measured at the antenna
output will be in dBV).
Microvolts per meter (mV/m) a way of
defining a station's expected (or measured)
field strength at a receiving location.
Field strength can be measured by a
device specifically designed to measure the
strength of the passing wave. Potomac
Industries makes the model 4100, a device
which measures field strength.
Formulas to calculate approximate field
strength can also be used. dBu in reality is
another improper contraction - a shortened
version of dBV/m.
dBV/m is commonly and usually written
nowadays as dBu, using the lowercase
letter 'u'. It is the term used worldwide by
engineers and the FCC for measuring
electric field strength of AM, FM, and
TV broadcast stations at prescribed
distances.
dBu is directly related to mV/m (mV/m =
1000 times V/m), and is the logarithmic
representation of mV/m.
Why d of dB is small and B is
capital?
As dB is a logarithmic unit used to express
the ratio of two values. d of dB is small
because it is a prefix used for fraction values
and B of dB is a symbol of unit bel named
in honor of Alexander Graham Bell. So B
is capital due to scientist name and bel is
seldom used. Most of the units of
measurement named after scientists are
used in capital.