In
signal processing and particularly
DSP, an impulse is a
signal with one
non-zero value and the rest of the signal equal to zero. A graph of an impulse would look something like
_
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
__________________| |________________________
Where | | is the width of one sample.
Impulses are useful in practical signal processing applications for the purpose of characterizing and modelling a channel. If you pass an impulse through a channel or filter, the output signal will be the impulse response of the channel or filter. The width of the impulse response shows how long it takes for the effects of a signal to pass through the channel.