What is intensity in noise pollution?

Noise pollution is a serious threat to the quality of man’s environment. Noise, by definition, is over-loud or disturbing sound. Sound levels are measured in decibels (dB). It is a unit for expressing the relative intensity of sound on a scale from 0 to 130.

What is power and intensity used in noise pollution?

13.1 Analysis of Noise. For environmental noise pollution, decibel (dB) is used as a measure of sound power level, sound intensity level and sound pressure level (Cunniff, 1977). The decibel is a dimensionless unit and can be expressed in different scales as follows: 1.

How does sound intensity change with distance from a point source?

Sound intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the sound wave source. Since sound waves carry its energy though a two-dimensional or three-dimensional medium, the intensity of the sound wave decreases with increasing distance form the source.

What determines the intensity of sound?

The closer the particles get or the further apart they get, the greater the sound’s amplitude. Sound amplitude causes a sound’s loudness and intensity. The bigger the amplitude is, the louder and more intense the sound. Sound intensity is measured in Watts per meters squared.

What do you mean by intensity of sound?

sound intensity, amount of energy flowing per unit time through a unit area that is perpendicular to the direction in which the sound waves are travelling.

What is the intensity of a sound wave called?

acoustic intensity
Sound intensity, also known as acoustic intensity, is defined as the power carried by sound waves per unit area in a direction perpendicular to that area. The SI unit of intensity, which includes sound intensity, is the watt per square meter (W/m2).

What is sound intensity level?

Definition of sound-intensity level : the relative sound intensity at any point in a sound field as compared with a specified standard intensity that is usually expressed in decibels above or below the standard.

Why does the intensity of sound decrease with distance?

The decrease in intensity with increasing distance is explained by the fact that the wave is spreading out over a circular (2 dimensions) or spherical (3 dimensions) surface and thus the energy of the sound wave is being distributed over a greater surface area.

Does intensity depend on distance?

There is an inverse relationship between distance and light intensity – as the distance increases, light intensity decreases. This is because as the distance away from a light source increases, photons of light become spread over a wider area.

What is intensity level of sound?

Intensity level: The difference of loudness between the intensity of a sound and the standard intensity is called intensity level. In other words, the ratio of the logarithm of intensity of a sound and standard intensity is called the intensity level of that sound. It is normally expressed in the unit decibel (dB).

What does the intensity of sound depends upon?

Intensity results from two factors: the amplitude of the sound waves and how far they have traveled from the source of the sound. Amplitude is a measure of the size of sound waves. It depends on the amount of energy that started the waves.

What is the intensity of sound?

Sound intensity varies by a factor of 1012 10 12 from threshold to a sound that causes damage in seconds. You are unaware of this tremendous range in sound intensity because how your ears respond can be described approximately as the logarithm of intensity.

What is point source pollution?

Point source pollution is defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as “any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe…” This image shows a point source of industrial pollution along the Calumet River.

What is noise pollution?

Noise pollution is an invisible danger. It cannot be seen, but it is present nonetheless, both on land and under the sea. Noise pollution is considered to be any unwanted or disturbing sound that affects the health and well-being of humans and other organisms. Sound is measured in decibel s.

What is the decibel level of a sound having the threshold intensity?

The decibel level of a sound having the threshold intensity of is , because . That is, the threshold of hearing is 0 decibels. (Figure) gives levels in decibels and intensities in watts per meter squared for some familiar sounds.