What are harmonics?
A harmonic is any member of the harmonic series, a divergent infinite series. Its name derives from the concept of overtones, or harmonics in musical instruments: the wavelengths of the overtones of a vibrating string or a column of air (as with a tuba) are derived from the string's (or air column's) fundamental wavelength. Every term of the series (i.e., the higher harmonics) after the first is the "harmonic mean" of the neighboring terms. The phrase "harmonic mean" likewise derives from music.
The term is employed in various disciplines, including music, physics, acoustics, electronic power transmission, radio technology, and other fields. It is typically applied to repeating signals, such as sinusoidal waves. A harmonic of such a wave is a wave with a frequencythat is a positive integer multiple of the frequency of the original wave, known as the fundamental frequency. The original wave is also called the 1st harmonic, the following harmonics are known as higher harmonics. As all harmonics are periodic at the fundamental frequency, the sum of harmonics is also periodic at that frequency. For example, if the fundamental frequency is 50 Hz, a common AC power supply frequency, the frequencies of the first three higher harmonics are 100 Hz (2nd harmonic), 150 Hz (3rd harmonic), 200 Hz (4th harmonic) and any addition of waves with these frequencies is periodic at 50 Hz.
A harmonic is any member of the harmonic series, a divergent infinite series. Its name derives from the concept of overtones, or harmonics in musical instruments: the wavelengths of the overtones of a vibrating string or a column of air (as with a tuba) are derived from the string's (or air column's) fundamental wavelength. Every term of the series (i.e., the higher harmonics) after the first is the "harmonic mean" of the neighboring terms. The phrase "harmonic mean" likewise derives from music.
The term is employed in various disciplines, including music, physics, acoustics, electronic power transmission, radio technology, and other fields. It is typically applied to repeating signals, such as sinusoidal waves. A harmonic of such a wave is a wave with a frequencythat is a positive integer multiple of the frequency of the original wave, known as the fundamental frequency. The original wave is also called the 1st harmonic, the following harmonics are known as higher harmonics. As all harmonics are periodic at the fundamental frequency, the sum of harmonics is also periodic at that frequency. For example, if the fundamental frequency is 50 Hz, a common AC power supply frequency, the frequencies of the first three higher harmonics are 100 Hz (2nd harmonic), 150 Hz (3rd harmonic), 200 Hz (4th harmonic) and any addition of waves with these frequencies is periodic at 50 Hz.
