Signals.

Signals are detectable physical quantities or variable by means of which messages or information can be
transmitted. For example:
a. Human voice.
b. Television Picture
c. Teletype data
d. Atmospheric pressure.
e. Voltage
f. Current
g. Temperature

In other words, we can say a signal is a function of an independent variable which time. A signal is a
description of how one parameter varies in relation to another parameter.
In electrical engineering, the fundamental quantity of representing some information is called signal.

𝑥 𝑡   t represents for continuous time signal. 
For discrete time signal it is n and n is 
enclosed with third bracket [n] 

𝑡 

System.
Signal may be further processed by system, which may modify them or extract additional information from
them.
For example, an anti-aircraft gun operator may want to know the future location of a hostile moving target
that is being tracked by his RADAR. Knowing the RADAR single he knows the past velocity and past
location of the target. By properly processing the RADAR signal (input signal) he can approximately
estimate the future location of the target (output signal)
Definition of System
1. A system is an entity that processes a set of signal (input) to yield another set of signal (output).
2. A system is a device or combination of devices, which can operate on input signals and produces a
corresponding output signals.

Example of System
A system can be a mathematical model, a piece of code/software, a physical device or a box whose input is
one type of signal and output is another type of signal.
Note: Input signal is represented as 𝑥 𝑡 and output signal is represented as 𝑦 𝑡
Classification of Signal
Signal can be classified in several ways. For example:
a. Continuous-time and Discrete-time signal
b. Analog and digital signal
c. Periodic and Aperiodic signal
d. Energy and power signal
e. Deterministic and probabilistic signal

Continuous-time and Discrete-time signal

Keeping the time ‘t’ as independent variable, signal can be classified as:
a. Continuous-time signal.
b. Discrete time signal.

Continuous-time signal
A signal is said to be continuous when it is defined for all instants of time. In other word, if the independent
variable is continuous the signal is said to be continuous. Continuous-time signal is represented as 𝑥 𝑡

Discrete-time signal
If the independent variable takes on only discrete value, the single is said to be discrete time signal. In other
words, a signal is said to be discrete when it is defined at only discrete instant of time. Discrete time signal
is denoted as 𝑥 𝑛
Periodic/Aperiodic Signal
A signal is said to be periodic if it repeats itself after a regular interval of time. That means signal will have
same value after the time interval. Mathematically, consider a signal which is denoted as 𝑥 𝑡 , will be
periodic if it satisfy the following condition
𝑥 𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 𝑛𝑇
Where
𝑇 𝐹𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑
𝑛 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟

Fundamental time period

Fundamental time period is the smallest positive value of time for which signal is periodic.

2  4 6 8 10 12

1  3  5  7 9 11  13
Fundamental Frequency and Fundamental Angular Frequency
Let us consider a signal 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝝎𝒕. Here 𝜔 is the fundamental angular frequency. We know that
𝜔 2𝜋𝑓
1
2𝜋 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠
𝑇
Fundamental frequency 𝑓 𝐻𝑧

Rational Number
A rational number is any number that can be expressed as a ratio of two integers. The word rational comes
from ratio

Theory (Page-5, Samir S. Soliman & Mandyam D. Srinath)

The sum of two periodic signal is periodic only if the ratio of their respective periods can be expressed as
rational number
Or
Mathematically

𝑇 𝑘
𝑇 𝑘
Where T represents time period and k is any integer
Proof:
Let us consider two periodic signal
𝑥 𝑡 𝑥 𝑘 𝑇 𝑡
𝑦 𝑡 𝑦 𝑘 𝑇 𝑡

Let
𝑧 𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 𝑦 𝑡
∴𝑧 𝑡 𝑥 𝑘 𝑇 𝑡 𝑦 𝑘 𝑇 𝑡 ……………….. 1

Now 𝑧 𝑡 will be periodic if

𝑧 𝑡 𝑧 𝑡 𝑇
∴𝑧 𝑡 𝑥 𝑡 𝑇 𝑦 𝑡 𝑇 …………………………. 2
From equation (1) and (2) we can write

𝑥 𝑡 𝑇 𝑦 𝑡 𝑇 𝑥 𝑘 𝑇 𝑡 𝑦 𝑘 𝑇 𝑡

Now comparing similar component, we can write

𝑇 𝑘 𝑇
𝑇 𝑘 𝑇
Or
𝑇 𝑘 𝑇 𝑘 𝑇

𝑇 𝑘
∴
𝑇 𝑘