Cartographic Distortion
Title: Cartographic Distortion
Summary: In cartography, distortion refers to the misrepresentation of the area or shape of a feature, often caused by projection methods like the Mercator projection, which exaggerates the size of regions at high latitudes[1].
Distortion in Music
Title: Distortion in Music
Summary: Distortion in music is the intentional alteration of sound, typically by increasing the amplitude of higher harmonics, resulting in a nonlinear sound. In music, distortion is often associated with overdrive, clipping, and fuzz pedals[2].
Distortion in Optics
Title: Distortion in Optics
Summary: In geometric optics, distortion is a deviation from rectilinear projection, causing images to deviate from straight lines. Radial distortion is the most common form, resulting in barrel or pincushion distortion. Radial distortion can be corrected using software like PTlens or Brown’s distortion model[3].
Cognitive Distortion
Title: Cognitive Distortion
Summary: Cognitive distortion refers to irrational thought patterns that cause individuals to perceive reality inaccurately. Common cognitive distortions include all-or-nothing thinking, minimization, and catastrophizing[4].
Total Harmonic Distortion
Title: Total Harmonic Distortion
Summary: Total harmonic distortion (THD) is a measurement of the harmonic distortion present in a signal, defined as the ratio of the sum of the harmonic content to the fundamental quantity. THD is used to measure the accuracy of audio and power systems[5].
Citations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distortion
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distortion_(music)
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distortion_(optics)
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_distortion
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_harmonic_distortion
In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal representing sound or a video signal representing images, in an electronic device or communication channel.
Distortion is usually unwanted, and so engineers strive to eliminate or minimize it. In some situations, however, distortion may be desirable. For example, in noise reduction systems like the Dolby system, an audio signal is deliberately distorted in ways that emphasize aspects of the signal that are subject to electrical noise, then it is symmetrically "undistorted" after passing through a noisy communication channel, reducing the noise in the received signal. Distortion is also used as a musical effect, particularly with electric guitars.
The addition of noise or other outside signals (hum, interference) is not considered distortion, though the effects of quantization distortion are sometimes included in noise. Quality measures that reflect both noise and distortion include the signal-to-noise and distortion (SINAD) ratio and total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N).
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin distortio, distortionis, from distortus.