Phase (waves)

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Phase in waves is the fraction of a wave cycle which has elapsed relative to an
arbitrary point.
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Contents
[hide
1 Formula
! "hase shift
# "hase difference
$ %n&phase and 'uadrature (%)*+ components
, "hase coherence
- "hase compensation
. /ee also
0 1eferences
2 34ternal links
[edit] Formula
5he phase of an oscillation or wave refers to a sinusoidal function such as the
following:
where A, f, and are constant parameters. 5hese functions are periodic with period
, and they are identical e4cept for a displacement of along the a4is. 5he
term phase can refer to several different things:
%t can refer to a specified reference, such as , in which case we would
say the phase of is , and the phase of is .
%t can refer to , in which case we would say and have the same phase
but are relative to different references.
%n the conte4t of communication waveforms, the time&variant angle
or its modulo value, is referred to as instantaneous phase, but often 6ust
phase. Instantaneous phase has a formal definition that is applicable to more
general functions and unambiguously defines a function7s initial phase at t89.
:ccordingly, it is for and for . (also see phasor+
[edit] Phase shift
%llustration of phase shift. 5he hori;ontal a4is represents an angle (phase+ that is
increasing with time.
Phase shift is any change that occurs in the phase of one 'uantity, or in the phase
difference between two or more 'uantities.
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is sometimes referred to as a phase&shift, because it represents a <shift< from ;ero
phase. =ut a change in is also referred to as a phase shift.
For infinitely long sinusoids, a change in is the same as a shift in time, such as a
time&delay. %f is delayed (time&shifted+ by of its cycle, it becomes:
whose <phase< is now %t has been shifted by radians.
[edit] Phase difference
%n&phase waves
>ut&of&phase waves
?eft: the real part of a plane wave moving from top to bottom. 1ight: the same wave
after a central section underwent a phase shift, for e4ample, by passing through a
glass of different thickness than the other parts. (5he illustration on the right ignores
the effect of diffraction whose effect increases over large distances+.
Phase difference is the difference, e4pressed in electrical degrees or time, between
two waves having the same fre'uency and referenced to the same point in time.
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5wo
oscillators that have the same fre'uency and different phases have a phase difference,
and the oscillators are said to be out of phase with each other. 5he amount by which
such oscillators are out of step with each other can be e4pressed in degrees from 9@ to
#-9@, or in radians from 9 to !A. %f the phase difference is 109 degrees (A radians+,
then the two oscillators are said to be in antiphase. %f two interacting waves meet at a
point where they are in antiphase, then destructive interference will occur. %t is
common for waves of electromagnetic (light, 1F+, acoustic (sound+ or other energy to
become superposed in their transmission medium. When that happens, the phase
difference determines whether they reinforce or weaken each other. Bomplete
cancellation is possible for waves with e'ual amplitudes.
5ime is sometimes used (instead of angle+ to e4press position within the cycle of an
oscillation.
: phase difference is analogous to two athletes running around a race track at
the same speed and direction but starting at different positions on the track.
5hey pass a point at different instants in time. =ut the time difference (phase
difference+ between them is a constant & same for every pass since they are at
the same speed and in the same direction. %f they were at different speeds
(different fre'uencies+, the phase difference is undefined and would only
reflect different starting positions. 5echnically, phase difference between two
entities at various fre'uencies is undefined and does not e4ist.
5ime ;ones are also analogous to phase differences.
[edit] In-phase and quadrature (I&) components
/ee also: *uadrature phase and Bonstellation diagram
5he term in-phase is also found in the conte4t of communication signals:
and:
where represents a carrier fre'uency, and
and represent possible modulation of a pure carrier wave, e.g.:
(or + 5he modulation alters the original (or +
component of the carrier, and creates a (new+ (or + component, as shown
above. 5he component that is in phase with the original carrier is referred to as the in-
phase component. 5he other component, which is always 29@ ( radians+ <out of
phase<, is referred to as the quadrature component.
[edit] Phase coherence
Boherence is the 'uality of a wave to display well defined phase relationship in
different regions of its domain of definition.
%n physics, 'uantum mechanics ascribes waves to physical ob6ects. 5he wave function
is comple4 and since its s'uare modulus is associated with the probability of
observing the ob6ect, the comple4 character of the wave function is associated to the
phase. /ince the comple4 algebra is responsible for the striking interference effect of
'uantum mechanics, phase of particles is therefore ultimately related to their 'uantum
behavior.
[edit] Phase compensation
34ample of a phase compensation circuit.
Phase compensation is the correction of phase error (i.e., the difference between the
actually needed phase and the obtained phase+. : phase compensation is re'uired to
obtain stability in an opamp. : capacitorC1B network is usually used in the phase
compensation to keep a phase margin. : phase compensator subtracts out an amount
of phase shift from a signal which is e'ual to the amount of phase shift added by
switching one or more additional amplifier stages into the amplification signal path.
[edit] !ee also
%nstantaneous phase
?issa6ous curve
"hase angle
"hase cancellation
"hase velocity
"olarity
"olari;ation