harmonic series

American  

noun

Mathematics.

1. a series in which the reciprocals of the terms form an arithmetic progression.

2. the divergent infinite series, 1 + 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/4 + 1/5 + . . . .

---

harmonic series British  

noun

1. maths a series whose terms are in harmonic progression, as in 1 + 1/ 2 + 1/ 3 + …

2. acoustics the series of tones with frequencies strictly related to one another and to the fundamental tone, as obtained by touching lightly the node points of a string while playing it. Its most important application is in the playing of brass instruments

---

harmonic series Scientific  

1. A series whose terms are in harmonic progression, especially the series 1 + 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/4 + …. and so on.

---

Etymology

Origin of harmonic series

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

To illustrate how the integral test works, use the harmonic series as an example.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

It is obtained from the harmonic series by deleting all terms in which n is odd.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Compare to a plot of the first 1000 partial sums of the harmonic series.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

However, checking the endpoints, we find that at x = 1 the series is the alternating harmonic series, which converges.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

The valves can be used in combination, too, making even more harmonic series available.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones