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Proof that Growlers are louder than Prowlers, ’nuff said……Science trumps emotion…….as well as navy hogwash

imagehornet550x281Sound intensity is the really damaging thing about loud sound to humans and wildlife. Sound measurements are on a complicated log scale, but the short of it is that sound intensity doubles with every 3-dB increase. But its not that complex. The Navy’s own data clearly states that Growlers, as they approach a landing, register at 114 dB compared with 107 dB for Prowlers. Given the log scale, that 7-dB difference expands to Growler noise being 4.33 times (433% of) as intense as the average reading for Prowlers.

On the other hand, loudness is a more qualitative measure of what people seem to hear, which is different from the actual sound intensity their full body experiences. Loudness, too, is on a log scale, such that a 10-dB increase in noise doubles the human perception of its loudness. So, again, looking to the Navy’s own data, the 117-dB they report for Growler takeoff registers at 1.3 times (133% of) the 114-dB loudness of a Prowler takeoff.

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