Fourier Series: Step-by-Step
Building complex signals from simple sine waves.
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The Mathematical Blueprint
f(t) = sin(1ωt)
Starting with the 1st Harmonic (Fundamental Frequency)
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The Interactive Summation
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n = 1 (Fundamental)
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What are you seeing?
• The Circles (Phasors): Each circle represents one sine wave. The size (radius) is the Amplitude, and the rotation speed is the Frequency.
• Summation: Notice how the circles are stacked. This is literally adding the Y-values of the sine waves together ($A+B+C$).
• The Result: As you add more harmonics ($n=3, 5, 7...$), the circles "cancel out" the humps of the sine wave to make the top of the wave flat. This is how we create a Square Wave.