Editing 26: Fourier
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| date = November 2, 2005 | | date = November 2, 2005 | ||
| title = Fourier | | title = Fourier | ||
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| image = fourier.jpg | | image = fourier.jpg | ||
| titletext = That cat has some serious periodic components | | titletext = That cat has some serious periodic components | ||
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | A {{w|Fourier transform}} is a mathematical function transformation often used in physics and engineering. | |
− | + | The theory is that any line graph can be represented as the sum of a bunch of sine waves of different frequencies and amplitudes. (The most obvious application is in analyzing a sound recording in terms of the different frequencies of sounds used.) So, for any line graph, you can produce another graph of the frequencies and their amplitudes. This can be done by evaluating an integral based on the function, which is referred to as "taking the Fourier transform" of the function. The form of the integral that needs to be taken is actually shown in the third line of the comic [[55: Useless]]. | |
− | Unfortunately, Cueball has applied this "transform" to his cat | + | Unfortunately, Cueball has applied this "transform" to his cat. Although it seems to still be alive and possibly even unharmed, it is clearly not in its familiar shape, and it is not clear if this condition is permanent or not. |
− | + | "Periodic components" in the title text refers to the spikes in the graph. Because sine waves repeat themselves as you go along, the presence of large amounts of one particular sine wave in the Fourier transform graph (each spike) shows that the overall result (the initial graph) is likely to have parts that also repeat themselves, like a {{w|periodic function}}. In other words, the cat has repeating parts. | |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[Cueball | + | :[Cueball talks on phone. A grotesque-looking cat with many sharp vertical points looks on.] |
− | :Cueball: Hi, Dr. Elizabeth? Yeah, uh... I accidentally took the Fourier transform of my cat... | + | :Cueball: Hi, Dr. Elizabeth? Yeah, uh ... I accidentally took the Fourier transform of my cat... |
:Cat: Meow! | :Cat: Meow! | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Trivia== | ||
+ | *This was the 27th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]]. | ||
+ | **The previous was [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]. | ||
+ | **The next was [[27: Meat Cereals]]. | ||
+ | *Original title: "Wednesday's Drawing - Fourier" | ||
+ | *There were no original [[Randall]] quote for this comic. | ||
+ | *This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006. | ||
+ | **It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others. | ||
+ | **The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44. | ||
+ | *One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]]. | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
− | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 27]] |
− | [[Category:First day on xkcd | + | [[Category:First day on xkcd]] |
[[Category:Checkered paper]] | [[Category:Checkered paper]] | ||
[[Category:Comics with color]] | [[Category:Comics with color]] |