aperiodic

[ ey-peer-ee-od-ik ]

adjective

1. not periodic; irregular.
2. Physics. of or relating to vibrations or oscillations with no apparent period.

aperiodic

/ ˌeɪpɪərɪəˈdɪsɪtɪ; ˌeɪpɪərɪˈɒdɪk /

adjective

1. not periodic; not occurring at regular intervals
2. physics
   1. (of a system or instrument) being damped sufficiently to reach equilibrium without oscillation
   2. (of an oscillation or vibration) not having a regular period
   3. (of an electrical circuit) not having a measurable resonant frequency

Derived Forms

• ˌaperiˈodically, adverb
• aperiodicity, noun

Other Words From

• ape·ri·odi·cal·ly adverb
• a·pe·ri·o·dic·i·ty [ey-peer-ee-, uh, -, dis, -i-tee], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of aperiodic¹

First recorded in 1875–80; a- ⁶ + periodic ¹

Example Sentences

In their paper, Lendner and her co-authors argue that aperiodic signals can serve as a unique signature to measure a person’s state of consciousness.

From Quanta Magazine

Voytek’s code has driven a lot of recent research, but it isn’t the only game in town for aperiodic noise analysis.

From Quanta Magazine

In a new paper published in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Schaworonkow and Voytek found large changes in aperiodic activity during the first seven months of life.

From Quanta Magazine

This gives neuroscientists a new tool to dissect both the regular waves and the aperiodic activity in order to disentangle their roles in behavior, cognition and disease.

From Quanta Magazine

With Voytek’s software, Lendner and her colleagues found that in the aperiodic noise of test subjects’ EEGs, the high-frequency activity dropped off faster during REM sleep than when they were awake.

From Quanta Magazine