Learn English – White Noise: Why White

etymologymeaning

I'm always surprised when I hear the term white noise.

White noise itself sounds a little more "evil" than anything else, I would almost expect it to be called black noise.

  • Why is white noise called white noise?

Best Answer

White noise, is called white in analogy to white light:

  • The background noise that is continuously present on electrical circuits or radio circuits due to the thermal agitation of electrons.White noise has a flat power spectral density, which is to say that it has equal power at any frequency in any given frequency band.

  • The term white noise comes from the fact that it is analogous to white light, which is a combination of all frequencies or wavelengths in the visible light spectrum. (Webster's New World Telecom Dictionary)

From: Atlantic Monthly Company, 1946

  • The purest and simplest noise of all, it should be noted, is what the scientist calls a white noise. Like white light, which Newton showed to be compounded of all the colors, white noise is the simultaneous sounding of all the pitches.

The mixing of colored light. Red + green = yellow. Green + blue = cyan. Red + blue = magenta. Red + green + blue = white.

Related Topic