An ideal sine wave is a waveform that is identical to (the graphss of each wave are the same as) the generalized sine function y = Asin[ω(x − α)] + C, where A is the amplitude, ω is the angular frequency (2π/P where P is the wavelength), α is the phase shift, and C is the vertical offset.

See also:

• Fourier transform
• Harmonic series

This article was originally based on material from FOLDOC, used with permission. Update as needed.