harmonic analysis

harmonic analysis
1. the calculation of Fourier series and their generalization.
2. the study of Fourier series and their generalization. Also called Fourier analysis.
[1865-70]

* * *

      mathematical procedure for describing and analyzing phenomena of a periodically recurrent nature. Many complex problems have been reduced to manageable terms by the technique of breaking complicated mathematical curves into sums of comparatively simple components.

      Many physical phenomena, such as sound waves (sound), alternating electric currents (alternating current), tides (tide), and machine motions and vibrations (vibration), may be periodic in character. Such motions can be measured at a number of successive values of the independent variable, usually the time, and these data or a curve plotted from them will represent a function of that independent variable. Generally, the mathematical expression for the function will be unknown. However, with the periodic functions found in nature, the function can be expressed as the sum of a number of sine and cosine terms. Such a sum is known as a Fourier series, after the French mathematician Joseph Fourier (Fourier, Joseph, Baron) (1768–1830), and the determination of the coefficients of these terms is called harmonic analysis. One of the terms of a Fourier series has a period equal to that of the function, f(x), and is called the fundamental. Other terms have shortened periods that are integral submultiples of the fundamental; these are called harmonics. The terminology derives from one of the earliest applications, the study of the sound waves created by a violin (see analysis: Musical origins (analysis) and Fourier analysis (analysis)).

      In 1822 Fourier stated that a function y = f(x) could be expressed between the limits x = 0 and x = 2π by the infinite series that is now given in the form

provided the function is single-valued, finite, and continuous (continuity) except for a finite number of discontinuities, and where
and
for k ≥ 0. With the further restriction that there be only a finite number of extremum (local maxima and minima), the theorem was proved by the German mathematician Peter Lejeune Dirichlet (Dirichlet, Peter Gustav Lejeune) in 1829.

      The use of a larger number of terms will increase the accuracy of the approximation, and the large amounts of calculations needed are best done by machines called harmonic (or spectrum) analyzers; these measure the relative amplitudes of sinusoidal components of a periodically recurrent function. The first such instrument was invented by the British mathematician and physicist William Thomson (later Baron Kelvin (Kelvin, William Thomson, Baron)) in 1873. This machine, used for the harmonic analysis of tidal observations, embodied 11 sets of mechanical integrators (integrator), one for each harmonic to be measured. A still more complicated machine, handling up to 80 coefficients, was designed in 1898 by the American physicists Albert Abraham Michelson (Michelson, A.A.) and Samuel W. Stratton.

      Early machines and methods made use of an experimentally determined curve or set of data. In the case of electric currents or voltages, an entirely different method is possible. Instead of making an oscillographic record of the voltage or current and analyzing it mathematically, the analysis is performed directly on the electric quantity by recording the response as the natural frequency of a tuned circuit is varied through a wide range. Thus, harmonic analyzers and synthesizers of the 20th century tended to be electromechanical rather than purely mechanical devices. Modern analyzers display the frequency-modulated signals visually by means of a cathode-ray tube, and digital or analog computer principles are used to carry out the Fourier analysis automatically, thereby achieving approximations of great accuracy.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Harmonic analysis — is the branch of mathematics that studies the representation of functions or signals as the superposition of basic waves. It investigates and generalizes the notions of Fourier series and Fourier transforms. The basic waves are called harmonics… …   Wikipedia

  • harmonic analysis — n. 1. the study of Fourier series 2. the act of breaking a periodic function into components, each expressed as a sine or cosine function …   English World dictionary

  • harmonic analysis — noun analysis of a periodic function into a sum of simple sinusoidal components • Syn: ↑Fourier analysis • Hypernyms: ↑analysis * * * noun : the approximate expression of a periodic function known only for some values of the independent variable… …   Useful english dictionary

  • harmonic analysis — harmoninė analizė statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. harmonic analysis; harmonical analysis vok. harmonische Analyse, f rus. гармонический анализ, m pranc. analyse harmonique, f …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • harmonic analysis — noun A study of the representation of functions or signals as the superposition of basic waves, involving the notions of harmonic functions, trigonometric series, Fourier series, Fourier transforms, almost periodic functions, and others …   Wiktionary

  • Spherical harmonic analysis — Harmonic Har*mon ic (h[aum]r*m[o^]n [i^]k), Harmonical Har*mon ic*al ( [i^]*kal), a. [L. harmonicus, Gr. armoniko s; cf. F. harmonique. See {Harmony}.] 1. Concordant; musical; consonant; as, harmonic sounds. [1913 Webster] Harmonic twang! of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • harmonic analysis — noun Date: 1867 the expression of a periodic function as a sum of sines and cosines and specifically by a Fourier series …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • harmonic analysis — harmon′ic anal′ysis n. math. the calculation or study of Fourier series and their generalization • Etymology: 1865–70 …   From formal English to slang

  • Noncommutative harmonic analysis — In mathematics, noncommutative harmonic analysis is the field in which results from Fourier analysis are extended to topological groups which are not commutative. Since for locally compact abelian groups have a well understood theory, Pontryagin… …   Wikipedia

  • List of harmonic analysis topics — This is a list of harmonic analysis topics, by Wikipedia page. See also list of Fourier analysis topics and list of Fourier related transforms, which are more directed towards the classical Fourier series and Fourier transform of mathematical… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”