Why should one choose the maximum as reference for power-to-decibel conversion?

1. Why the decibel reference to one milliwatt dbmw is used in amplifier specifications?
2. Why power is measured in dB?
3. How do you convert power into decibels?
4. Why are telecommunication powers expressed in decibels?

Why the decibel reference to one milliwatt dbmw is used in amplifier specifications?

It is used because of its capability to express both very large and very small values of power in a short range of number; e.g., 1 milliwatt = −30 dBW, 1 watt = 0 dBW, 10 watts = 10 dBW, 100 watts = 20 dBW, and 1,000,000 W = 60 dBW.

Why power is measured in dB?

The term decibel does not in itself indicate power, but rather is a ratio or comparison between two power values. It is often desirable to express power levels in decibels by using a fixed power as a reference. The most common references in the world of electronics are the milliwatt (mW) and the watt.

How do you convert power into decibels?

Decibels are dimensionless numbers used to represent the ratio of two quantities of power: db = 10 log P₁/P₀ . This is a base 10 logarithm. For the common unit of "dbm" the reference power P₀ is defined as 1 milliwatt : dbm = 10 log P₁/1mw.

Why are telecommunication powers expressed in decibels?

Decibels are used to specify measured and calculated values in audio systems, microwave system gain calculations, satellite system link-budget analysis, antenna power gain, light-budget calculations and in many other communication system measurements.