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Spectrogram

Definition

A time-frequency plot in which the horizontal axis is time, the vertical axis is frequency, and colour or brightness encodes signal energy. The primary visual tool for audio authentication. Discontinuities appear as abrupt vertical changes in spectral energy distribution.

Related terms

Background Noise Profiling
Statistical characterisation of the ambient noise floor in quiet segments of a recording, including its average level, spectral shape, and stationarity. Changes...
BSA 2023
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023: the Indian evidence statute that replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872 on 1 July 2024; retains the section...
Discontinuity
Any point in an audio recording where a physical property of the signal changes abruptly in a way inconsistent with natural acoustic...
ENF (Electric Network Frequency) Analysis
A method that tracks the recorded mains-frequency component (nominally 50 Hz or 60 Hz) through an audio file and compares its fluctuation...
ENF (Electrical Network Frequency)
The instantaneous frequency of the mains electricity supply (nominally 50 or 60 Hz), which drifts continuously and uniquely with time and is...
ENFSI FSAAWG
European Network of Forensic Science Institutes Forensic Speech and Audio Analysis Working Group; publishes EU-standard guidelines for audio forensics, speaker comparison, and...
Inverse-Square Law
The principle that acoustic intensity decreases in proportion to the square of the distance from a point source in free-field conditions; used...
Mach Cone
The conical shock wave produced by a supersonic projectile; its half-angle is determined by sin(alpha) = c/v where c is the speed...
Mach Number
The ratio of a projectile's speed to the ambient speed of sound; a Mach number greater than 1 indicates supersonic flight and...
Multipath
The phenomenon in which a sound from a single source reaches a microphone via multiple paths (direct plus multiple reflections), each arriving...
Muzzle Blast
A broadband impulsive pressure wave generated when high-pressure propellant gases exit the barrel behind the projectile. It radiates roughly omnidirectionally and is...
Phase Discontinuity
An abrupt change in the phase of a periodic component of the audio signal. In a continuous recording, the phase of background...

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