Sampling (signal processing)In signal processing, sampling is the reduction of a continuous-time signal to a discrete-time signal. A common example is the conversion of a sound wave to a sequence of "samples". A sample is a value of the signal at a point in time and/or space; this definition differs from the term's usage in statistics, which refers to a set of such values. A sampler is a subsystem or operation that extracts samples from a continuous signal. A theoretical ideal sampler produces samples equivalent to the instantaneous value of the continuous signal at the desired points.
Discrete time and continuous timeIn mathematical dynamics, discrete time and continuous time are two alternative frameworks within which variables that evolve over time are modeled. Discrete time views values of variables as occurring at distinct, separate "points in time", or equivalently as being unchanged throughout each non-zero region of time ("time period")—that is, time is viewed as a discrete variable. Thus a non-time variable jumps from one value to another as time moves from one time period to the next.
Nyquist rateIn signal processing, the Nyquist rate, named after Harry Nyquist, is a value (in units of samples per second or hertz, Hz) equal to twice the highest frequency (bandwidth) of a given function or signal. When the function is digitized at a higher sample rate (see ), the resulting discrete-time sequence is said to be free of the distortion known as aliasing. Conversely, for a given sample-rate the corresponding Nyquist frequency in Hz is one-half the sample-rate.
Nyquist–Shannon sampling theoremThe Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem is an essential principle for digital signal processing linking the frequency range of a signal and the sample rate required to avoid a type of distortion called aliasing. The theorem states that the sample rate must be at least twice the bandwidth of the signal to avoid aliasing distortion. In practice, it is used to select band-limiting filters to keep aliasing distortion below an acceptable amount when an analog signal is sampled or when sample rates are changed within a digital signal processing function.
