Posted by Lisa on October 13, 2002 at 22:18:46:
In Reply to: Re: question posted by Joel on October 13, 2002 at 19:17:16:
so would it be written as [10 log (10^2/ a_0)]
The noise level of one sound is 20 decibals higher than that of a second sound. Find the ratio of the intensity of the first sound to the second sound.
The question was to find the ration and I was asking if I had written the ratio correctly.
: The ratio is (louder divided by softer), so I guess it depends on how you define your I_1 and I_2. I think it's usually written as I1/I0 where I1 is the sound in question and I0 is the "reference level" -- that is, what the sound in question is being compared to.