Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier (1749 –

1829), French Mathematician, born in

Auxerre, first devised Fourier series
method while studying the conduction
of heat in a metal rod.

(The study of Fourier series is a branch

of Fourier analysis.)This shows just one
of the many applications of Fourier
series.
 The analysis of current flow in electrical engineering.

 Analysis of sound waves.

 In mathematics to solve differential equations.

 The determination of harmonic components in a complex

waveform. This is very helpful in analyzing AC waveforms in
Electrical Engineering.

 The most useful application is in solving vibrations problems.

The Fourier series has many such applications in

Electrical engineering,
Vibration analysis,
Acoustics,
Optics,
Signal processing,
Image processing,
Quantum mechanics,
Econometrics, etc.
 Signal processing is an area of systems
engineering, electrical engineering and applied
mathematics that deals with operations on or analysis of
signals, in either discrete or continuous time.

 Signals of interest can include sound, images,

time-varying measurement values and sensor data, for
example biological data such as electrocardiograms,
control system signals, telecommunication transmission
signals, and many others.
 Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that
generally deals with the study and application of electricity,
electronics and electromagnetism.

 The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late

nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric
telegraph and electrical power supply.

 It now covers a range of subtopics including power,

electronics, control systems, signal processing and
telecommunications.
 Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals
with the study of all mechanical waves in gases,
liquids, and solids including vibration, sound,
ultrasound and infrasound.

 Hearing is one of the most crucial means of survival

in the animal world, and speech is one of the most
distinctive characteristics of human development
and culture. So it is no surprise that the science of
acoustics spreads across so many facets of our
society—music, medicine, architecture, industrial
production, warfare and more.
 In electrical engineering and computer science,
image processing is any form of signal processing
for which the input is an image, such as a
photograph or video frame.

 The output of image processing may be either an

image or, a set of characteristics or parameters
related to the image.
 Most image-processing techniques involve treating
the image as a two-dimensional signal and applying
standard signal-processing techniques to it.


Oscillation is the repetitive variation, typically

in time, of some measure about a central value
(often a point of equilibrium) or between two or
more different states.

 Familiar examples include a swinging

pendulum and AC power.

Optics is the branch of physics which involves
the behavior and properties of light, including its
interactions with matter and the construction of
instruments that use or detect it.
 Optics usually describes the behavior of visible,
ultraviolet, and infrared light. Because light is an
electromagnetic wave, other forms of electromagnetic
radiation such as X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves
exhibit similar properties.
 Optical science is relevant to and studied in
many related disciplines including astronomy, various
engineering fields, photography, and medicine
(particularly ophthalmology and optometry).
 Fourier series are used in the analysis of
periodic functions.

Many of the phenomena studied in engineering

and science are periodic in nature eg. the
current and voltage in an alternating current
circuit.

These periodic functions can be analysed into

their constituent components (fundamentals
and harmonics) by a process called
Fourier analysis.

We are aiming to find an approximation

using trigonometric functions for various
square, saw tooth, etc waveforms that occur in A periodic function
electronics.

We do this by adding more and more

trigonometric functions together. The sum of
these special trigonometric functions is called
the Fourier Series.
 Required conditions for Fourier series:

 A function f(x) which is defined in (C, C+ 2L) can be expanded as a infinite

trigonometric series as provided

i. f(x) is single valued and finite in (C, C+ 2L).

ii. f(x) is continuous (or) Piece – wise continuous to the finite
number of discontinuities in (C, C+ 2L).
iii. f(x) has no (or) finite number of maxima and minima in (C, C+
2L) then the Fourier series converges to f(x) at every point
of
continuity . At the point of discontinuity, the Fourier series
converges to the sum of the series which is equal to the mean of the

limits on the right and left.