Bel | unit of measurement | Britannica (original) (raw)

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decibel

• In decibel
  The term bel is derived from the name of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. The unit decibel is used because a one-decibel difference in loudness between two sounds is the smallest difference detectable by human hearing.
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measurement of sound intensity

• In sound intensity
  …is said to be one bel, a unit named in honour of the United States inventor Alexander Graham Bell. Accordingly, the relative intensities of two sounds in bels is equal to the logarithm of the intensity ratio—i.e., if I is the intensity of one sound and _I_0 is that of…
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