Trigonometry

While most people associate trigonometry with triangles, it is more useful in technical fields to consider the trigonometric functions as related to circles.

y(t) = Asin(2πft + s) = Asin(ωt + φ)

where:

A, amplitude, the peak deviation of the function from zero.

f, ordinary frequency, the number of oscillations (cycles) that occur each second of time.

ω = 2πf, angular frequency, the rate of change of the function argument in units of radians per second

φ , phase, specifies (in radians) where in its cycle the oscillation is at t = 0.

When φ is non-zero, the entire waveform appears to be shifted in time by the amount φ/ω seconds. A negative value represents a delay, and a positive value represents an advance.