The Laplace Transform
The Laplace Transform is a generalization of the Fourier Transform. Instead of considering only the imaginary axis, $ j\omega\! $, (as the Fourier Transform does) the Laplace Transform considers all complex values represented by the general complex variable $ s\! $. Take the following simple picture:
Fourier Transform: $ x(t) --> X(\omega)\! $ where $ \omega\! $ is a frequency.
Laplace Transform: $ x(t) --> X(s)\! $ where $ s\! $ is a complex variable.
Mathematically, the Laplace Transform is represented as follows:
