Harmonic series

Harmonic series
Harmonic Har*mon"ic (h[aum]r*m[o^]n"[i^]k), Harmonical Har*mon"ic*al (-[i^]*kal), a. [L. harmonicus, Gr. "armoniko`s; cf. F. harmonique. See {Harmony}.] 1. Concordant; musical; consonant; as, harmonic sounds. [1913 Webster]

Harmonic twang! of leather, horn, and brass. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

2. (Mus.) Relating to harmony, -- as melodic relates to melody; harmonious; esp., relating to the accessory sounds or overtones which accompany the predominant and apparent single tone of any string or sonorous body. [1913 Webster]

3. (Math.) Having relations or properties bearing some resemblance to those of musical consonances; -- said of certain numbers, ratios, proportions, points, lines, motions, and the like. [1913 Webster]

{Harmonic interval} (Mus.), the distance between two notes of a chord, or two consonant notes.

{Harmonical mean} (Arith. & Alg.), certain relations of numbers and quantities, which bear an analogy to musical consonances.

{Harmonic motion}, the motion of the point A, of the foot of the perpendicular PA, when P moves uniformly in the circumference of a circle, and PA is drawn perpendicularly upon a fixed diameter of the circle. This is simple harmonic motion. The combinations, in any way, of two or more simple harmonic motions, make other kinds of harmonic motion. The motion of the pendulum bob of a clock is approximately simple harmonic motion.

{Harmonic proportion}. See under {Proportion}.

{Harmonic series} or {Harmonic progression}. See under {Progression}.

{Spherical harmonic analysis}, a mathematical method, sometimes referred to as that of {Laplace's Coefficients}, which has for its object the expression of an arbitrary, periodic function of two independent variables, in the proper form for a large class of physical problems, involving arbitrary data, over a spherical surface, and the deduction of solutions for every point of space. The functions employed in this method are called spherical harmonic functions. --Thomson & Tait.

{Harmonic suture} (Anat.), an articulation by simple apposition of comparatively smooth surfaces or edges, as between the two superior maxillary bones in man; -- called also {harmonia}, and {harmony}.

{Harmonic triad} (Mus.), the chord of a note with its third and fifth; the common chord. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Harmonic series — could refer to two related concepts:*Harmonic series (mathematics) *Harmonic series (music) …   Wikipedia

  • harmonic series — pl.n., n. the series of harmonic tones making up a composite tone: also called harmonics pl.n …   English World dictionary

  • harmonic series — harmoninė eilutė statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. harmonic series vok. harmonische Reihe, f rus. гармонический ряд, m pranc. série harmonique, f …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • Harmonic series (music) — Harmonic series of a string. Pitched musical instruments are often based on an approximate harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air, which oscillates at numerous frequencies simultaneously. At these resonant frequencies, waves… …   Wikipedia

  • Harmonic series (mathematics) — In mathematics, the harmonic series is the divergent infinite series: Its name derives from the concept of overtones, or harmonics in music: the wavelengths of the overtones of a vibrating string are 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc., of the string s… …   Wikipedia

  • harmonic series — noun 1. : the divergent series 1+ 1/2+ 1/3+ 1/4+ 1/5+ … 2. : a series of partial tones consisting of a fundamental tone or first harmonic and all the overtones whose frequency ratio to it can be expressed in whole numbers, these harmonics usually …   Useful english dictionary

  • harmonic series — noun 1》 Music a set of frequencies consisting of a fundamental and the harmonics related to it by an exact fraction. 2》 Mathematics a harmonic progression …   English new terms dictionary

  • harmonic series — Math. 1. a series in which the reciprocals of the terms form an arithmetic progression. 2. the divergent infinite series, 1 + 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/4 + 1/5 +. ... [1865 70] * * * …   Universalium

  • harmonic series — noun Date: 1866 a series of the form 1 + 1/2α + 1/3α + 1/4α + ... which diverges for 0 ≤ α ≤ 1 and converges for α > 1 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • harmonic series — harmon′ic se′ries n. math. a series in which the reciprocals of the terms form an arithmetic progression • Etymology: 1865–70 …   From formal English to slang

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