The Size of the Decibel

How "big" is a decibel?  

Starting Frequency. (default is middle C)

MUTE Five successive steps of -10dB (-1 Bel) Ten successive steps of -6dB
  Ten successive steps of -3dB Ten successive steps of -1dB

This applet requires Java 1.1 and a sound card.  The highest frequency that can be produced without aliasing problems is ~3500Hz.   This demonstration was created by Dan Boye.