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

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

From Washington Post

So Brahney and a colleague turned to a technique called Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to analyze those particles and the fibers.

From Science Magazine

The team independently estimated the number of microplastics using a process called Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, which measured how the samples absorbed and emitted infrared light to differentiate plastic from other material.

From Scientific American

Now, one of the things quantum computers can do with this sequence is take its Fourier transform, which lets them find the period of the sequence.

From Scientific American

And crystallographers now understand that the X-ray diffraction patterns of a crystal are the Fourier transform of the crystal’s structure.

From Nature