- Sinusoids are fundamental in physics: many systems (e.g.
mass-spring) oscillate in a quasi-sinusoidal motion known as
simple harmonic motion.
- Bandlimited sounds may be viewed as the sum of a finite number
of sinusoids having a different amplitude, frequency, and phase.
- The amount of each sinusoidal frequency present in a sound can
be viewed by the sound's spectrum.
- The human ear acts as a spectrum analyzer: when sound enters the
inner ear, each frequency in the sounds resonates at a position along
the basilar membrane, where hair cells transmit the vibration
to the auditory nerve at the appropriate rate.
``Music 270a: Sinusoids''
by Tamara Smyth,
Department of Music, University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
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Copyright © 2019-09-30 by Tamara Smyth.
Please email errata, comments, and suggestions to Tamara Smyth<trsmyth@ucsd.edu>