Difference between white noise and pink noise?

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Difference between white noise and pink noise?

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4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Just to add to the previous comments: noise is a mixture of a lot of different frequencies (pitches) at a lot of different amplitudes (loudnesses), in a random, non-regularly repeating fashion.

White noise is like white light: all the “colors” (different wave frequencies) at more or less the same amplitudes.

Pink noise is like white noise, in that it has a lot of different frequencies at different amplitudes, but rather than all frequencies being equally loud, red noise is emphasized. “Red” is the lower end of the visible light spectrum—think “infrared”, which are the wavelengths below red that we can’t see (compare to ultraviolet). So when you mix “all frequencies the same” with “lower frequencies emphasized” you get pink noise. This is why pink noise sounds like it is lower in pitch than white noise.

Anonymous 0 Comments

White noise – Equal energy in each frequency. The amplitude of all sound waves are the same regardless of frequency which results in higher octaves containing more energy

Pink noise – Equal energy in each octave which results in the amplitude of the sound wave decreasing as the frequency increases.

There is also Grey noise which has equal loudness(as perceived by humans) at each frequency and Red Noise which has the amplitude fall off with the frequency squared so higher frequencies have much lower energy than in pink noise.

Anonymous 0 Comments

White noise covers all frequencies that the human ear can hear with equal intensity, so white = static. Pink noise lowers the intensity at high frequencies, so it’s more soothing, pink = wind or steady rain.

Anonymous 0 Comments

White noise contains all audible frequencies at the same intensity. Pink noise contains all audible frequencies, but the intensity drops off as the frequency increases.