ABSTRACT
That our perception of sound via our hearing systems is logarithmic becomes an obvious necessity when one considers that the difference in sound power between the smallest perceivable sound in a quiet room and a loud rock band in concert is about 1012 – one to one-million-million times. A rocket launch at close distance can increase that by a further one million times. The ear actually responds to the sound pressure though, which is related to the square of the sound power, so the pressure difference between the quietest sound and a loud rock band is 106 – one to one-million.
