How period of a periodic function is different from its fundamental period?
Distinction & similarity between period & fundamental period.
Authenticated definitions of period & fundamental period of a function.
I know period of $sin(x) = 2n\pi$, $n$ belongs to $N$
and fundamental period of $sin(x) = 2\pi$.
But I don't find a good reference for them.
Please look @ fundamental period.
Thnx
Best Answer
There is a U.S. presidential election every 20 years. For example, there were elections in 1880, 1900, 1920, 1940, 1960, 1980, and 2000. So the U.S. elections have a period of 20 years; they recur every 20 years.
But also, U.S. elections recur every four years (for example, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000) and their 20-year recurrence is a simple result of their recurrence every four years; if something happens every four years, like the elections, then it must also happen every twenty years, like the elections.
The elections have a period of twenty years, because they recur every twenty years. But they have a fundamental period of four years, because they recur every four years, and not any smaller amount.