Books on waves with Fourier Transforms

In summary, there are many books on waves and oscillations that touch on Fourier analysis, but very few provide a thorough treatment of the subject. Some potential sources for intuitive Fourier analysis are listed, and it is suggested to also look into math methods for physics or advanced engineering mathematics books. The EI method for Fourier analysis is discussed as a potentially more efficient and accurate alternative to zero-padding.
  • #1
Joker93
504
36
There are many waves and oscillations books out there that also include Fourier analysis but very few give the subject a thorough treatment, they just pass it in a few pages. If anybody has any sources(particularly books) that have Fourier analysis and particularly Fourier Transforms, I would appreciate if he could share his information with me.

Waves, Oscillations, Quantum Mechanics or Mathematics books are all ok if they have an intuitive Fourier analysis in them.
 
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  • #3
Adam Landos,

I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for. Have you tried the obvious google searches? For example "fourier transform notes physics" provided many pdf files of notes from physics faculty on Fourier analysis. Perhaps one is useful for you. This subject can be presented with many different viewpoints at many different levels. One book I like (but which is probably not what you want) is:
https://see.stanford.edu/materials/lsoftaee261/book-fall-07.pdfDr. Courtney,

Interesting papers. I do have a question: how does your EI method in the third paper compare with simple zero-padding prior to FFT? This would give you the higher sample rate in the frequency domain, effectively using sinc interpolation.

jason
 
  • #4
  • #5
jasonRF said:
Dr. Courtney,

Interesting papers. I do have a question: how does your EI method in the third paper compare with simple zero-padding prior to FFT? This would give you the higher sample rate in the frequency domain, effectively using sinc interpolation.

jason

In all the cases we've tested, the results are equivalent to within rounding errors related to machine precision. The tradeoffs between zero padding and the EI method are discussed in detail on pp 17-18 of the paper, but we prefer the EI method for several reasons:

1. Taking smaller frequency steps continues to increase accuracy for steps as small as 1/100 th the FFT bin size. Zero padding a 100,000 point data set out to 10 million points does not make sense. If a time series was only sampled for 1 second (or 1 year), padding the data to 100 seconds (or 100 years) may be technically equivalent, but it seems dishonest.

2. It is better not to teach students to add data to a data set that is not actually measured. This is a very rare case in all of data analysis where doing so may be rigorously justified, and students and younger scientists may not appreciate the subtle distinctions between this rare case and scientific dishonesty.

3. If only a small number of peaks are of interest, the EI method can be more effficient, because the whole spectrum need not be computed.

4. The EI method does not require evenly sampled time series.
 
  • #6
Thank you all.Your suggestions where very helpful. If anyone else has anything more to suggest, please feel free.
 
  • #7
Dr. Courtney,

Thanks for your reply. My apologies for obviously not carefully reading that part of the paper!

EDIT: the above is more honestly stated: my apologies for not reading that part of the paper!

jason
 
Last edited:

Related to Books on waves with Fourier Transforms

What are Fourier transforms in relation to waves?

Fourier transforms are mathematical tools used to break down a complex wave into its individual frequency components. This allows us to better understand and analyze the behavior of a wave.

Why are Fourier transforms important in understanding waves?

Fourier transforms help us to understand how different frequencies contribute to a wave, which can provide insights into the underlying physics and properties of the wave.

How are Fourier transforms used in the study of waves?

Fourier transforms are used in various fields such as physics, engineering, and signal processing to analyze, model, and manipulate waves. They can also be used to solve differential equations and predict the behavior of waves in different scenarios.

What are some common applications of Fourier transforms in understanding waves?

Fourier transforms are commonly used in fields such as acoustics, electromagnetics, and optics to study and analyze various types of waves. They are also used in data compression and image processing to represent signals in terms of frequency components.

Are there any limitations to using Fourier transforms to understand waves?

While Fourier transforms are a powerful tool for analyzing waves, they have some limitations. They assume that the wave is periodic and infinite, which may not always be the case in real-world scenarios. Additionally, they cannot capture the behavior of nonlinear waves.

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