CALCULATING RMS VALUES FROM DIGITAL AND SAMPLED DATA

Abstract

The root-mean-square (RMS) of the amplitude of a waveform is defined for continuous data. When sampled data is used, the signal may be converted to a continuous analog signal, filtered, and the RMS value measured by traditional means; if, however, the data exists already in sampled digital form, the RMS value can be calculated on the sampled data itself. By so doing, moreover, the lower integration limit and the integration interval can be varied to provide better frequency response and/or accuracy. A computer program in BASIC is shown for demonstration purposes which may be spliced into a larger data analysis program.