Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In the study of heat conduction, the Fourier number, is the ratio of time, , to a characteristic time scale for heat diffusion, . This dimensionless group is named in honor of J.B.J. Fourier , who formulated the modern understanding of heat conduction. [ 1 ]
The trade-off between the compaction of a function and its Fourier transform can be formalized in the form of an uncertainty principle by viewing a function and its Fourier transform as conjugate variables with respect to the symplectic form on the time–frequency domain: from the point of view of the linear canonical transformation, the ...
Fourier analysis grew from the study of Fourier series, and is named after Joseph Fourier, who showed that representing a function as a sum of trigonometric functions greatly simplifies the study of heat transfer. The subject of Fourier analysis encompasses a vast spectrum of mathematics.
The Fourier series expansion of the sawtooth function (below) looks more complicated than the simple formula () =, so it is not immediately apparent why one would need the Fourier series. While there are many applications, Fourier's motivation was in solving the heat equation .
Left: A continuous function (top) and its Fourier transform (bottom). Center-left: Periodic summation of the original function (top). Fourier transform (bottom) is zero except at discrete points. The inverse transform is a sum of sinusoids called Fourier series. Center-right: Original function is discretized (multiplied by a Dirac comb) (top).
Harmonic analysis is a branch of mathematics concerned with investigating the connections between a function and its representation in frequency.The frequency representation is found by using the Fourier transform for functions on unbounded domains such as the full real line or by Fourier series for functions on bounded domains, especially periodic functions on finite intervals.
In mathematics, the discrete-time Fourier transform (DTFT) is a form of Fourier analysis that is applicable to a sequence of discrete values. The DTFT is often used to analyze samples of a continuous function. The term discrete-time refers to the fact that the transform operates on discrete data, often samples whose interval has units of time.
The conversion from continuous time to samples (discrete-time) changes the underlying Fourier transform of x(t) into a discrete-time Fourier transform (DTFT), which generally entails a type of distortion called aliasing. Choice of an appropriate sample-rate (see Nyquist rate) is the key to minimizing that distortion.