The nuclear weapons origin of the FFT

[Dave Typinski]

How nuclear weapons spurred the development of the FFT -- but perhaps not the
way one might imagine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmgFG7PUHfo

--
Dave

[Alex P]

Interesting. Thanks.

At 11:00 min into the presentation, there is a comment about the 'real world' ( analog data ) not being continuous

but made of discrete points and that being the basis for using the DFT..    not correct

Only after Analog signals are converted to Digital are they are  " Finite and made up of individual samples  or data points "

And that digitized data set can be processed by the Cooley-Tukey Discrete Fast Fourier Transform Algorithm .

The Cooley-Tukey FFT enabled the identification of frequency domain periodicity and analysis of spectral signatures via

 digital computer processing of a near endless variety of analog data.. and subsequent filtering and processing in the frequency domain.

Alex KK4VB

[Dave Typinski]

On 3/16/24 08:36, 'Alex P' via Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers wrote:
> Interesting. Thanks.
>
> At 11:00 min into the presentation, there is a comment about the 'real world' (
> analog data ) not being continuous

> but made of discrete points and that being the basis for using the DFT.. /not
> correct/
> /
> /

> Only after Analog signals are converted to Digital are they are " Finite and
> made up of individual samples or data points "

Not so ever since Hubble, Planck, and Einstein spoiled the infinite & analog
party. Nothing is infinite and continuity is only an approximation of the real
world, albeit a very useful one in many situations.
--
Dave