Calculate signal loss in decibels or through material absorption.
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About this calculator
Quick Reference
dBDecibels
αAttenuation Coefficient
3 dBHalf the power
6 dBHalf the voltage
Overview
Attenuation is the reduction in strength of a signal or beam as it propagates through a medium. It is most commonly expressed in Decibels (dB) for electronic signals or using an exponential decay formula for waves passing through matter.
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Pro Tips
For power ratios, use 10 log10; for voltage or amplitude ratios, use 20 log10.
Negative dB means gain (amplification), positive dB means loss (attenuation).
In fiber optics, attenuation is usually measured in dB/km.
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Fun Facts
"Glass fiber is so clear that if the ocean were made of it, you could see the bottom several miles down."
"The atmosphere attenuates certain radio frequencies so much that they are effectively blocked, creating 'windows' for astronomy."
"Decibels are a logarithmic scale—a 10 dB loss means the signal has only 1/10th of its original power!"
