A "sabin" is a unit used to measure the sound absorption of a material or surface. It quantifies the effectiveness of a material in reducing sound reflections within a room or space. The sabin is named after Wallace Clement Sabine, an American physicist who made significant contributions to the study of architectural acoustics.
One sabin is equivalent to one square foot (approximately 0.0929 square meters) of perfectly sound-absorbing material. In other words, if a material has a sound absorption of 1 sabin per square foot, it means that it absorbs all sound energy that strikes it, and none is reflected.
Architects, acoustical engineers, and designers use the sabin as a measurement to assess and improve the acoustic properties of rooms, such as concert halls, theaters, recording studios, and offices. By selecting materials with known sound absorption coefficients and calculating the total sabin value for a space, they can optimize the acoustic environment to reduce unwanted echoes and noise.
A circular mil (often abbreviated as cmil or kcmil) is a unit of area used primarily in the United States for measuring the cross-sectional area of a round wire or cable. It is a convenient unit for specifying the size of electrical conductors.
One circular mil is equal to the area of a circle with a diameter of one mil (1/1000th of an inch) or approximately 0.000000506707 square inches (in²). In metric units, one circular mil is approximately equal to 0.000001273 square millimeters (mm²).
Circular mils are commonly used in the American Wire Gauge (AWG) system to specify wire sizes. The AWG system assigns a unique number to each wire size, and this number is related to the wire's cross-sectional area in circular mils. For example, a larger AWG number corresponds to a smaller wire size with fewer circular mils, while a smaller AWG number corresponds to a larger wire size with more circular mils. This system allows for easy reference and selection of wire sizes for various electrical applications.