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Fourier Notes PDF

This document discusses Fourier analysis and how square and triangle waves can be represented as the sum of sine and cosine waves. It explains that any repetitive waveform can be broken down into a collection of sine and cosine components. Specifically, it provides the equations that represent a square wave and triangle wave as the sum of an infinite series of sines or cosines at integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. An example is given of how a 100Hz square wave consists of sines at 100Hz, 300Hz, 500Hz etc. with decreasing amplitudes. The document also includes a diagram showing how a square wave is constructed by summing individual harmonics.

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sridhar venkatesan
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62 views

Fourier Notes PDF

This document discusses Fourier analysis and how square and triangle waves can be represented as the sum of sine and cosine waves. It explains that any repetitive waveform can be broken down into a collection of sine and cosine components. Specifically, it provides the equations that represent a square wave and triangle wave as the sum of an infinite series of sines or cosines at integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. An example is given of how a 100Hz square wave consists of sines at 100Hz, 300Hz, 500Hz etc. with decreasing amplitudes. The document also includes a diagram showing how a square wave is constructed by summing individual harmonics.

Uploaded by

sridhar venkatesan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Fourier Analysis

or
How to Build a Square Wave From a Bunch of Sines

Professor Fiore
Mohawk Valley Community College

The Fourier theorem, named after the French mathematician Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier, states
that any repetitive waveform can be represented as a collection of sine and cosine waves of the
proper amplitude and frequency. Alternately, it may be represented as a series of sine waves each
with the proper amplitude, frequency and phase. This includes complex signals such as the
human voice and musical instruments. Consequently, if a system is linear, by using superposition
the response of a system to a complex wave may be understood in terms of its response to
individual sine waves.

In this collection of waves, each component is known as a partial with the lowest frequency
component known as the fundamental. All other partials are grouped together and referred to as
overtones. “Regular” waveforms such as square waves and triangle waves feature a harmonic
overtone sequence meaning that these overtones are integer multiples of the fundamental. As a
shortcut, they are often referred to as just harmonics.

It might be hard to visualize initially, but both square waves and triangle waves are made up of a
series of sines. The general equation for a square wave is:

1
v (t )  n1

sin( 2n  1)2ft
2n  1

This says that a square wave of frequency f is made up of an infinite series of sines at odd integer
multiples of f, with an inverse amplitude characteristic. For example, a 100 Hz square consists of
a 100 Hz sine plus a 300 Hz sine at 1/3 amplitude plus a 500 Hz sine at 1/5 amplitude plus a 700
Hz sine at 1/7 amplitude and so on. A triangle wave is similar:

1
v (t )  n1

cos(2n  1)2ft
(2n  1) 2

Thus a triangle wave of frequency f is made up of an infinite series of cosines (sines with a 90
degree or one quarter cycle phase shift) at odd integer multiples of f, with an inverse square
amplitude characteristic. For example, a 100 Hz triangle consists of a 100 Hz cosine plus a 300
Hz cosine at 1/9 amplitude plus a 500 Hz cosine at 1/25 amplitude plus a 700 Hz cosine at 1/49
amplitude and so on.

On the following page is a series of graphs showing the construction of a square wave. Along the
left side are the fundamental and the first two harmonics at 100 Hz, 300 Hz and 500 Hz. At the
top right is the fundamental added to the first harmonic and below it, the fundamental plus the
first two harmonics. As more harmonics are added, the sides get steeper and the top/bottom start
to flatten. They flatten because each additional harmonic partially cancels some of the peaks and
valleys from the previous summation. This gives rise to a greater number of undulations with
each undulation being smaller in vertical amplitude. Once a large number are added, the wave
approaches a flat top and bottom with vertical sides. At the bottom right of the image is the result
after adding approximately 100 harmonics. Notice the tight oscillations at the vertical edges. This
is known as Gibbs phenomenon.

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