Definition of Pure tone
In psychoacoustics and signal processing, a pure tone is a sound or other signal with a sinusoidal waveform; that is, a sine wave of constant frequency, phase-shift, and amplitude.
A pure tone has the property – unique among real-valued wave shapes – that its wave shape is unchanged by linear time-invariant systems; that is, only the phase and amplitude change between such a system's pure-tone input and its output.
Sine and cosine waves can be used as basic building blocks of more complex waves. As additional sine waves having different frequencies are combined, the waveform transforms from a sinusoidal shape into a more complex shape.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Pure tone?
In psychoacoustics and signal processing, a pure tone is a sound or other signal with a sinusoidal waveform; that is, a sine wave of constant frequency, phase-shift, and amplitude.