harmonic analysis
- noun
- /hɑːrˈmɒnɪk əˈnælɪsɪs/
- Specialized
:
análisis armónico
- In advanced mathematics, harmonic analysis is essential for analyzing periodic functions.
Examples
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The professor introduced harmonic analysis as a method to understand the behavior of waves in physics.
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Provided along with each card is a simple harmonic analysis focusing on the composer's extensive use of the V-I progression in "Weep, O Mine Eyes." This procedure gives my students valuable information for a more successful first reading of the song.
Academic text (1998) -
Harmonic analysis.
Academic text (1991) -
Another essential development in the science of X-ray crystallography was the invention by the French mathematician Fourier of what has come to be known as modern harmonic analysis, or Fourier theory.
Academic text (2007) -
The study of harmonic analysis allows engineers to break down complex signals into simpler components.
Synonyms
1
9.0
A method that breaks a repeating signal into simple sine and cosine waves
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly the ‘analysis (study) of harmonic phenomena’: combining 'harmonic' (relating to harmonics/spectrum) with 'analysis' (study) yields the technical sense. Although it names a specialized mathematical subfield, the composition is transparent and predictable (e.g. 'X analysis' = analysis of X), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the general meaning.
Etymology
Harmonic analysis comes from music: people heard complex sounds as a mix of simple tones called harmonics. To 'analyse' is to take something apart, so analysis here means separating a repeating sound or signal into those simple waves, which is why harmonic analysis means 'breaking a periodic signal into simple wave parts'.