Fourier transform

American  

[foor-ee-ey trans-fawrm, -ee-er] / ˈfʊər iˌeɪ ˌtræns fɔrm, -i ər /

noun

Mathematics.

1. a mapping of a function, as a signal, that is defined in one domain, as space or time, into another domain, as wavelength or frequency, where the function is represented in terms of sines and cosines. FT

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Fourier transform British  

noun

1. an integral transform, used in many branches of science, of the form F( x ) = [1/√(2π)]ʃe ^ixy f( y )d y , where the limits of integration are from –∞ to +∞ and the function F is the transform of the function f

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Etymology

Origin of Fourier transform

First recorded in 1920–25; Fourier analysis

Example Sentences

This method can extract different fluorophore signals, similar to how the human ear uses a mathematical model known as a Fourier transform to extract different pitches from a piece of music.

From Science Daily • Nov. 28, 2023

Not like a college textbook—there is a man named Kalid Azad, and he has a website called Better Explained where he explains things like the Fourier transform, which is a calculus theorem.

From Slate • Oct. 1, 2020

This information could then be reconstructed as an image using the well-known mathematical Fourier transform.

From Nature • Mar. 7, 2017

They are created by feeding an audio signal into a Fourier transform, a mathematical model for translating sounds into another format.

From Washington Post