  We study the finite-size scaling of the roughness of signals in systems
displaying Gaussian 1/f power spectra. It is found that one of the extreme
value distributions (Gumbel distribution) emerges as the scaling function when
the boundary conditions are periodic. We provide a realistic example of
periodic 1/f noise, and demonstrate by simulations that the Gumbel distribution
is a good approximation for the case of nonperiodic boundary conditions as
well. Experiments on voltage fluctuations in GaAs films are analyzed and
excellent agreement is found with the theory.
