What to notice
Explore · Predict · Explain
Build a Wave
How do simple sine waves combine into a complex signal?
Components → combined wave → spectrum
The idea
Complex shapes from simple waves
The component waves add together to approximate the white target. Each harmonic is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency. The spectrum shows its amplitude; phase is carried by the component curves.
More harmonics sharpen the reconstruction. Near a jump, Gibbs overshoot narrows but does not disappear. The first six nonzero components are shown individually to keep the plot readable.