Rayleigh distance Rayleigh distance Rayleigh distance in optics is the axial distance from a radiating aperture to a point at which the path difference between the axial ray and an edge ray is λ / 4. An approximation of the Rayleigh Distance is formula_1, in which Z is the Rayleigh distance, D is the aperture of radiation, λ the wavelength. This approximation can be derived as follows. Consider a right angled triangle with sides adjacent formula_2, opposite formula_3and hypotenuse formula_4. According to Pythagorean theorem, formula_5. Rearranging, and simplifying formula_6 The constant termformula_7 can be neglected. In antenna applications, the Rayleigh distance is
Sound power temperature, the sound power level at distance "r" from the sound source is approximately related to sound pressure level (SPL) by where Derivation of this equation: For a "progressive" spherical wave, where "z" is the characteristic specific acoustic impedance. Consequently, and since by definition , where is the reference sound pressure, The sound power estimated practically does not depend on distance. The sound pressure used in the calculation may be affected by distance due to viscous effects in the propagation of sound unless this is accounted for. Sound power Sound power or acoustic power is the rate at which sound