Article: Noise

In common use the word noise means unwanted sound or noise pollution. In broader sense the film grain or even advertisements in web pages can be considered noise. In electronics noise can refer to the electronic signal corresponding to acoustic noise (in an audio system) or the electronic signal corresponding to the (visual) noise commonly seen as 'snow' on a degraded television or video image. In signal processing or computing it can be considered data without meaning; that is, data that is not being used to transmit a signal, but is simply produced as an unwanted by-product of other activities. In Information Theory, however, noise is still considered to be information.

In many of these areas, the special case of thermal noise arises, which sets a fundamental lower limit to what can be measured or signaled and is related to basic physical processes at the molecular level described by well known simple formulae.

Environmental noise

Main article: Noise pollution

Environmental noise is the collection of offending sounds to which humans are involuntarily exposed. The principal sources of environmental noise are motor vehicles, aircraft and, increasingly, entertainment from live or reproduced music. Environmental noise is commonly referred to as Noise pollution.

Environmental noise is governed by noise regulations which set maximum recommended levels of sound levels for specific land uses, such as residential areas, schools, areas of outstanding natural beauty, or factories. These standards often specify measurement using a weighting filter, most often A-weighting, but in many cases this is not appropriate as it gives a reduced response to low frequency sounds, and does not take account of the increased annoyance value of bass boom from modern pop music, which penetrates walls and windows more easily than higher frequencies. Standards for the measurement of entertainment noise are currently confused and several research projects have recently set out to determine a valid method. There are significant noise health effects, both physiological and psychological. Environmental noise is usually measured in decibels, because of the great dynamic range of the human ear.

Acoustic noise

When speaking of noise in relation to sound, what is commonly meant is meaningless sound of greater than usual volume. Thus, a loud activity may be referred to as noisy. However, conversations of other people may be called noise for people not involved in any of them, and noise can be any unwanted sound such as the noise of aircraft, neighbours playing loud music, or road noise spoiling the quiet of the countryside.

For film sound theorists and practitioners at the advent of talkies c.1928/1929, noise was non-speech sound or natural sound and for many of them noise (especially asynchronous use with image) was desired over the evils of dialogue synchronized to moving image. The director and critic René Clair writing in 1929 makes a clear distinction between film dialogue and film noise and very clearly suggests that noise can have meaning and be interpreted: "...it is possible that an interpretation of noises may have more of a future in it. Sound cartoons, using "real" noises, seem to point to interesting possibilities" ('The Art of Sound' (1929)). Alberto Cavalcanti uses noise as a synonym for natural sound ('Sound in Films' (1939)) and as late as 1960, Siegfried Kracauer was referring to noise as non-speech sound ('Dialogue and Sound' (1960)).

Industrial noise

Industrial noise is usually considered mainly from the point of view of environmental health, rather than nuisance, as sustained exposure causes permanent hearing damage. A-weighted measurements are commonly use for this as well, and special exposure meters are available that integrate noise over a period of time to give an Leq value (equivalent sound pressure level), defined by standards. In the case of industrial noise affecting nearby residences or other sensitive receptors, the phenomenon is considered noise pollution.

Audio noise

Main article: Colors of noise

In audio, recording, and broadcast systems audio noise refers to the residual low level sound (usually hiss and hum) that is heard in quiet periods of programme.

In audio engineering it can also refer to the unwanted residual electronic noise signal that gives rise to acoustic noise heard as 'hiss'. This signal noise is commonly measured using A-weighting or ITU-R 468 weighting

Noise is often generated deliberately and used as a test signal. The two most common types of such noise are:

• white noise, which has a uniform spectral power density at all frequencies
• pink noise which has a power spectral density that falls at 3dB/octave with rising frequency. The pink noise is often more useful in audio testing because it contains constant energy per octave (and hence per commonly used 1/3rd octave), rather than a preponderance of energy at high frequencies. In other words it contains energy that is distributed geometrically rather than linearly.

Radio noise

Main article: Noise (radio)

Radio noise is interference picked up between transmitter and receiver output, often referred to as static. Radio noise can be caused by virtually any electromagnetic source, from lightning to man-made electronics, including the receiver itself. Transmitter power must be increased to overcome radio noise over long distances.

Video noise

In video and television, noise refers to the random dot pattern that is superimposed on the picture as a result of electronic noise, the 'snow' that is seen with poor (analog) television reception or on VHS tapes. Interference and static are other forms of noise, in the sense that they are unwanted, though not random, which can affect radio and television signals.

Electronic noise

Main article: Electronic noise

Electronic noise exists in all circuits and devices as a result of thermal noise, also referred to as Johnson Noise. Semiconductor devices can also contribute flicker noise and generation-recombination noise. In any electronic circuit, there exist random variations in current or voltage caused by the random movement of the electrons carrying the current as they are jolted around by thermal energy. The lower the temperature the lower is this thermal noise. This same phenomenon limits the minimum signal level that any radio receiver can usefully respond to, because there will always be a small but significant amount of thermal noise arising in its input circuits. This is why radio telescopes, which search for very low levels of signal from stars, use front-end low-noise amplifier circuits, usually mounted on the aerial dish, cooled in liquid nitrogen to a very low temperature.

Electronic noise is often measured in uV/root Hz, a term that derives from the fact that doubling the bandwidth of the measurement doubles the power level measured, but voltage is proportional to the square root of power. Integrated circuit devices, such as op-amps commonly quote equivalent input noise level in these terms (at room temperature).

Image noise

Main article: Image noise

In digital image processing noise corresponds to more or less visible grain present in the image. The term noise in this context usually refers to the high frequency random perturbations of color values of size close to 1 pixel, which are generally caused by electronic noise in the input device sensor and cirquitry (eg scanner, digital camera). There are other artifacts of similar appearance which are referred to with different terms to underline their origin (eg: film grain, scanner streaks).

See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Noise

• Noise (audio) - residual low level "hiss or hum"
• Noise (industrial) - hearing damage and industrial hygiene
• Noise (video) - "snow" on video or television pictures
• Noise (electronic) - related to electronic circuitry.
• Noise pollution - relates to unwanted environmental sound
• Noise (radio) - interference related to radio signals.
• Noise (economic) - relates to a theory of pricing developed by Fischer Black.
• Noise (big-bang) - cosmic microwave background radiation detected by astronomers.
• Noise figure - the ratio of the output noise power to attributable thermal noise.
• Noise engineer - as a career prospect
• Signal noise - in science, fluctuations in the signal being received.
• Thermal noise - sets a fundamental lower limit to what can be measured.
• Neuronal noise
• White noise
• Weighting filter
• ITU-R 468 noise weighting
• A-weighting
• Equal-loudness contour
• Ambient noise level
• List of noise topics
• Noise pollution
• Noise music - music using sounds regarded as unpleasant or painful.
• Noise regulation
• Noise (Goidelic mythology)