What does "increase by a factor of 3.2" mean?

[chaser0]

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The BR says that "As a general rule, every time the distance from the source is increased by a factor of 3.2, the intensity drops by a factor of 10."


I was under the impression that this meant

3.2n

But it is actually

3.2^n

I was just wondering if this is what the phrase indeed means, or if BR is using it wrong?

 

[Buttafuoco]

by a factor of X means multiplied by X. King of a weird relationship there, but you can see that they trying to tell you that intensity is inversely related to the square of distance. Gotta be a typo.

 

[pfaction]

sqrt 10 is 3.2, not sure if that's what they mean? Since intensity is amp sq / radius sq

 

[syoung]

Yep basically that's it.