Sine wave

A sine wave or sinusoid is a waveform whose graph is identical to the generalized sine function

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:y = Asin + C

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

where A is the amplitude, ω is the angular frequency (2π/P where P is the wavelength), α is the phase shift, and C is the vertical offset.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This wave pattern occurs often in nature, including in ocean waves, sound waves, and light waves.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A cosine wave is also said to be sinusoidal, since it has the same shape but is shifted slightly behind the sine wave on the horizontal axis: cos{(x -rac{pi}{2})} = sin{x}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Any non-sinusoidal waveforms, such as square waves or even the irregular sound waves made by human speech, are actually a collection of sinusoidal waves of different periods and frequencies blended together. The technique of transforming a complex waveform into its sinusoidal components is called Fourier analysis.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The human ear can recognize single sine waves because they sound "clean" or "clear" to us; some sounds that approximate a pure sine wave are whistling, a crystal glass set to vibrate by running a wet finger around its rim, and the sound made by a tuning fork.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To the human ear, a sound that is made up of more than one sine wave will either sound "noisy" or will have detectable harmonics.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Waveform: Waveform quite literally means the shape and form of a signal, such as a wave moving across the surface of water, or the vibration of a plucked string....

Graph: Graph may refer to:...

Sine: REDIRECT Trigonometric functions#Sine...

Sine wave related Images and Photos (experimental)

Purpose: Wave	Integrity: Wave	Wave I	Wave Rider
Wave Action	Wave Breaker	Heat Wave (Hardcover)	Bow Wave
Blue Wave	Blue Wave	Ocean Wave	Sienna Wave