FACTOID # 150: The number of tourists in San Marino is almost 19 times the resident population.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RELATED ARTICLES
People who viewed "Loudness" also viewed:
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

Encyclopedia > Loudness
The horizontal axis shows frequency in Hz
The horizontal axis shows frequency in Hz

Loudness is the quality of a sound that is the primary psychological correlate of physical intensity. Loudness, a subjective measure, is often confused with objective measures of sound intensity such as decibels. Filters such as A-weighting attempt to adjust intensity measurements to correspond to loudness as perceived by the average human. However, true perceived loudness varies from person to person and cannot be measured this way. Image File history File links Lindos1. ... Image File history File links Lindos1. ... FreQuency is a music video game developed by Harmonix and published by SCEI. It was released in November 2001. ... The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the SI unit of frequency. ... Sound is a disturbance of mechanical energy that propagates through matter as a longitudinal wave, and therefore is a mechanical wave. ... The decibel is a dimensionless unit (like percent) that is a measure of ratios on a logarithmic scale. ... The A-weighting curve is one of a family of curves defined in IEC179 and various other standards for use in sound level meters. ...


Loudness is also affected by parameters other than intensity, including: frequency (see bandwidth), and duration (see temporal integration). This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Contents

Explanation

Loudness is often approximated by a power function with an exponent of 0.6 when plotted vs. sound pressure or 0.3 when plotted vs. sound intensity (Stevens' power law). More precise measures have been subsequently made that show that loudness grows more rapidly (with a higher exponent) at low and high levels and less rapidly (with a lower exponent) at moderate levels. Units used to measure loudness: Stevens power law relates the intensity of a stimulus to its perceived strength. ...

  • Sone (loudness N)
  • Phon (loudness level L)

The sone is a unit of perceived loudness N after a proposal of S. Smith Stevens in 1936. ... Fig. ...

Loudness and hearing loss

When sensorineural hearing loss (damage to the cochlea) is present, the perception of loudness is altered. Sounds at low levels (often perceived by those without hearing loss as relatively quiet) are no longer audible to the hearing impaired, but interestingly, sounds at high levels often are perceived as having the same loudness as they would for an unimpaired listener. A common cause of sensorineural hearing loss is exposure to elevated sound levels. Sensorineural hearing loss is a type of hearing loss in which the root cause lies in the vestibulocochlear nerve (Cranial nerve VIII), the inner ear, or central processing centers of the brain. ... The cochlea is the auditory branch of the inner ear. ... Environmental noise can produce irreversible hearing loss Noise health effects, the collection of health consequences of elevated sound levels, constitute one of the most widespread public health threats in industrialized countries. ...


Other uses of the word loudness

A "loudness" control on a stereo alters a frequency response curve or uses audio level compression to make a selection sound louder. A Boombox or Boom-box is a portable stereo system capable of playing radio stations or recorded music (usually cassettes and/or, more recently, CDs), at relatively high volume. ... Frequency response is the measure of any systems response to frequency, but is usually used in connection with electronic amplifiers and similar systems, particularly in relation to audio signals. ... Audio level compression, also called dynamic range compression, volume compression, compression, limiting, or DRC (often seen in DVD player settings) is a process that manipulates the dynamic range of an audio signal. ...


See also

Look up Loudness in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

  Results from FactBites:
 
Loudness (894 words)
A general "rule of thumb" for loudness is that the power must be increased by about a factor of ten to sound twice as loud.
A widely used "rule of thumb" for the loudness of a particular sound is that the sound must be increased in intensity by a factor of ten for the sound to be perceived as twice as loud.
When two sounds of equal loudness when sounded separately are close together in pitch, their combined loudness when sounded together will be only slightly louder than one of them alone.
Loudness control circuit - Patent 4320534 (1492 words)
Furthermore, the loudness control circuit is disadvantageous in that, when the sliding contact of the variable resistor is set higher than the intermediate tap to increase the volume, the compensation effect of the loudness control circuit is inadequate.
Another object of the invention is to provide a loudness control circuit which can be provided in the form of an integrated circuit, and in which as the volume is decreased, the sound in the high and low frequency ranges is automatically boosted with the aid of DC voltages outputted by variable DC voltage sources.
A further object of the invention is to provide a loudness control circuit in which the sound in the low and high frequency ranges are automatically boosted with the electric field strength of a received broadcast wave such as an FM broadcast wave.
  More results at FactBites »

 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your location
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.