But that's why it's so confusing. Did they purposefully leave off the reference ... | Hacker News

Hacker Timesnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

bitdivision on May 22, 2025 | parent | context | favorite | on: The scientific “unit” we call the decibel

But that's why it's so confusing. Did they purposefully leave off the reference to indicate Watts, or did they mean volts (as I'd guess audio engineers typically do when talking about amplifiers).

BenjiWiebe on May 23, 2025 [–]

No, it isn't Watts if there's no reference. It's a ratio of powers. i.e. amplification or attenuation.

To have an actual amount of power, you need to reference it to some particular amount of power, like dBm for power-ratio-relative-to-milliwatt.

Consider applying for YC's Fall 2026 batch! Applications are open till July 27.
Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact