thumb|Typical example of Nyquist frequency and rate. To avoid aliasing, the sampling rate must be no less than the Nyquist rate of the signal; that is, the Nyquist rate of the signal must be under double the Nyquist frequency of the sampling.
In signal processing, the Nyquist frequency (or folding frequency) is a characteristic of a sampler, which converts a continuous function or signal into a discrete sequence. It is named after Harry Nyquist. For a given sampling rate (samples per second), the Nyquist frequency (cycles per second) is the frequency whose cycle-length (or period) is twice the interval between samples, thus 0.5 cycle/sample. For example, audio CDs have a sampling rate of 44100 samples/second. At 0.5 cycle/sample, the corresponding Nyquist frequency is 22050 cycles/second (Hz). Conversely, the Nyquist rate for sampling a 22050 Hz signal is 44100 samples/second.
See also
- Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem