Definition:Aliasing

Definition

Let samples be taken at regular time intervals from a stochastic process which exhibits periodicity of some form.

Suppose the time interval between consecutive samples is comparable to the period of the stochastic process.

Aliasing is the phenomenon whereby the wrong impression of the process is gleaned as a result.

Examples

Wagon Wheels

An example of aliasing occurs when a movie clip features turning wagon wheels.

If they are going at just the right speed, they look as though they are standing still or going backwards.

Also see

• Results about aliasing can be found here.

Sources

• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): aliasing
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): aliasing