Sine wave

A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or sinusoid (symbol: ∿) is a <a href="/facts/Periodic_function/Sm8lJQsF">periodic wave</a> whose <a href="/facts/Waveform/yAskMREw">waveform</a> (shape) is the <a href="/facts/Trigonometric_function/czej7ur0">trigonometric</a> <a href="/facts/Sine/gQ6LXK8z">sine function</a>. In <a href="/facts/Mechanics/A3yHLQA5">mechanics</a>, as a linear <a href="/facts/Motion/dCnP7MlB">motion</a> over time, this is <a href="/facts/Simple_harmonic_motion/u2cGAd91">simple harmonic motion</a>; as <a href="/facts/Rotation/yChkz49x">rotation</a>, it corresponds to <a href="/facts/Uniform_circular_motion/r4YaTspL">uniform circular motion</a>. Sine waves occur often in <a href="/facts/Physics/a7aH2y08">physics</a>, including <a href="/facts/Wind_wave/7IsEqwJp">wind waves</a>, <a href="/facts/Sound/DlKXlPuF">sound</a> waves, and <a href="/facts/Light/jeofpMn4">light</a> waves, such as <a href="/facts/Monochromatic_radiation/5bzKwIH3">monochromatic radiation</a>. In <a href="/facts/Engineering/RFVg8H3I">engineering</a>, <a href="/facts/Signal_processing/Npaja6zb">signal processing</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mathematics/pxTouaz4">mathematics</a>, <a href="/facts/Fourier_analysis/sUA8JP6q">Fourier analysis</a> decomposes general functions into a sum of sine waves of various frequencies, relative phases, and magnitudes.
When any two sine waves of the same <a href="/facts/Frequency/QUSbPaW8">frequency</a> (but arbitrary <a href="/facts/Phase_(waves)/cpGtuVll">phase</a>) are <a href="/facts/Linear_combination/CVjL6kuN">linearly combined</a>, the result is another sine wave of the same frequency; this property is unique among periodic waves. Conversely, if some phase is chosen as a zero reference, a sine wave of arbitrary phase can be written as the linear combination of two sine waves with phases of zero and a quarter cycle, the sine and cosine <a href="/facts/Vector_component/bCLrdksy">components</a>, respectively.

Sine wave open-in-new

Sine wave