(Periodic)
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One example of something that is periodic in discrete time is the phase of the moon.  This [http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonphase/| link] describes the phase of the moon and how it changes.  This is periodic because we can look into the future and predict which phase the moon will be in on any specific date.  It's discrete time because we can't see the phase of the moon during the day.
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One example of something that is periodic in discrete time is the phase of the moon.  This [http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonphase/ link] describes the phase of the moon and how it changes.  This is periodic because we can look into the future and predict which phase the moon will be in on any specific date.  It's discrete time because we can't see the phase of the moon during the day.
 
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== Non-Periodic ==
 
== Non-Periodic ==

Revision as of 07:55, 5 September 2008

Periodic

One example of something that is periodic in discrete time is the phase of the moon. This link describes the phase of the moon and how it changes. This is periodic because we can look into the future and predict which phase the moon will be in on any specific date. It's discrete time because we can't see the phase of the moon during the day.

Non-Periodic

An example of something that is not periodic in discrete time is the mile times of a marathon runner. This is not periodic because we can't look into the future and predict exactly how long it will take a runner to run their 13th mile before the race has even started. It is discrete time because we take our measurements in integers of seconds.

Alumni Liaison

Prof. Math. Ohio State and Associate Dean
Outstanding Alumnus Purdue Math 2008

Jeff McNeal