How do you measure the volume of a sound accurately if the perceived volume changes with distance?

Question

I understand that the closer to the sound source, the louder the sound. But is there a universal distance sound is measured from the sound source to get consistent measurements?

Thanks!

In: Physics

Answer 1

It depends on the purpose of the measurement. For large theaters and auditoriums it is going to be specified at the middle of the theater or a little further back. For police enforcing noise ordinances it will be defined by law. For appliance/power tool safety it is going to be less than a meter (3 feet). In general, the distance depends on where the people will be.