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Time Invariance

A system is time invariant if a the time shifted input signal $ x(t-T) $ implies an output with equal time shift, meaning $ x(t-T)\rightarrow y(t-T) $.

A Time Invariant System

Consider the system $ y(t)=sin[x(t)] $. Suppose we apply an input $ x(t)=t $; we get an output $ y(t)=sin(t) $.

Now suppose we apply an input $ x(t)=t-1 $. If this system is time invariant, we would expect an output time-shifted from the original by an amount equal to the input; therefore, we expect an output of $ sin(t-1) $. When we apply the shifted input signal, this is exactly the output of the system.

Therefore, we can conclude that the system $ y(t)=sin[x(t)] $ is time invariant.

A Time Variant System

What if we multiply the argument to the sine function by a number $ k\not= \{0,1\} $?

This gives us the new system $ y(t)=sin[kx(t)] $.

Let's use the same inputs $ x(t) $ as we did in the first example. When we apply an input $ x(t)=t $, the output is the expected

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Recent Math PhD now doing a post-doctorate at UC Riverside.

Kuei-Nuan Lin