The decibel expresses a ratio of quantities and not a quantity by itself.
The decibel does not express an exact quantity.
The decibel expresses how many times more or how many times less, a quantity in relation to another quantity is. It is an expression that is not linear but logarithmic.
It is a relative measurement unit. At audio frequencies a change of 1 decibel (dB) is barely noticed.
The decibel is represented in abbreviated form by dB. There is also the Bel.
1 Bel = 10 dB
Power ratio expressed in dB
If there are two powers P1 and P2, the ratio P1/P2 is NdB
NdB = 10 log10 P2/P1
Voltage ratio expressed in dB
If you have two voltages V1 and V2, the ratio V1/V2 is NdB
NdB = 20 log10 V2/V1
Current Ratio expressed in dB.
If there are two currents I1 and I2, I1/I2 ratio is NdB
NdB = 20 log10 I2/I1
If the result in dB is positive, it means that the relation between the two values is greater than 1 and if it is negative means that the relation between the two values is less than 1.
For example:
An amplifier with:
V1 = input voltage = 100mV
V2 = output voltage = 70.7mV
The amplification is the ratio between de output voltage V2 and the input voltage V1.
NdB = 20 log10 (70.7/100)
NdB = 20 log10 0.707
NdB = 20 x (-0.1506)
NdB = -3.012 dB
That means that there is a negative amplification.
Why use the decibel system?
It is a very simple reason. If we have a system with gains and losses (negative gains). It is much easier to add or subtract gains (not to multiply them) to obtain the final gain.
