Plural of bel, a unit of measurement for sound intensity equal to 10 decibels.
From Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, honored by having this logarithmic unit named after him in the early 20th century. The word 'bel' was created to measure sound power ratios.
Bell's name lives on in every whisper you measure—a 'bel' is so massive that we usually use decibels (one-tenth of a bel) instead, which is why you'll hear 'dB' everywhere from headphones to concerts.
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