Wavelet

A wavelet is a wave-like oscillation with an amplitude that begins at zero, increases or decreases, and then returns to zero one or more times. Wavelets are termed a "brief oscillation". A taxonomy of wavelets has been established, based on the number and direction of its pulses. Wavelets are imbued with specific properties that make them useful for signal processing. For example, a wavelet could be created to have a frequency of Middle C and a short duration of roughly one tenth of a second. If this wavelet were to be convolved with a signal created from the recording of a melody, then the resulting signal would be useful for determining when the Middle C note appeared in the song. Mathematically, a wavelet correlates with a signal if a portion of the signal is similar. Correlation is at the core of many practical wavelet applications. As a mathematical tool, wavelets can be used to extract information from many different kinds of data, including - but not limited to - audio signals and images. Sets of wavelets are needed to analyze data fully. "Complementary" wavelets decompose a signal without gaps or overlaps so that the decomposition process is mathematically reversible. Thus, sets of complementary wavelets are useful in wavelet-based compression/decompression algorithms, where it is desirable to recover the original information with minimal loss. In formal terms, this representation is a wavelet series representation of a square-integrable function with respect to either a complete, orthonormal set of basis functions, or an overcomplete set or frame of a vector space, for the Hilbert space of square-integrable functions. This is accomplished through coherent states. In classical physics, the diffraction phenomenon is described by the Huygens–Fresnel principle that treats each point in a propagating wavefront as a collection of individual spherical wavelets. The characteristic bending pattern is most pronounced when a wave from a coherent source (such as a laser) encounters a slit/aperture that is comparable in size to its wavelength.