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Why is the center of mass calculation described as a time-weighted average rather than the centroid of a wire with uniform mass per unit arc length?

The calculation averages complex points sampled uniformly in *time*, not uniformly along the *arc length* of the trajectory. Because the signal g(t)g(t) modulates the radius and the rotation speed varies with frequency, equal time intervals do not correspond to equal distances traveled along the curve. Therefore, it reflects the temporal distribution of the signal's energy, not geometric symmetry of the path.

Conditions

  • Sampling is done at uniform time intervals tkt_k.
  • The path is defined by zf(t)=g(t)e−2πiftz_f(t) = g(t)e^{-2\pi i ft}.

Reasoning, step by step

  1. Identify that the input data consists of pairs (tk,g(tk))(t_k, g(t_k)) where tkt_k are equally spaced.
  2. Map these to complex numbers zk=g(tk)e−2πiftkz_k = g(t_k)e^{-2\pi i f t_k}.
  3. Sum these complex numbers and divide by the number of samples (or integrate over time).
  4. Contrast this with calculating the geometric centroid of the curve traced by zf(t)z_f(t), which would weight segments by their arc length dsds.
  5. Conclude that the Fourier-style average weights each sample by its duration (dtdt), making it a time-weighted mean.

Example

The script clarifies: 'This is a time-weighted average, not the centroid of a wire with uniform mass per unit arc length.'

Common misconceptions

  • Assuming that visual symmetry of the spiral path implies a zero average; asymmetry in time sampling matters more.
  • Confusing the parameterization of the curve (time) with the geometric measure of the curve (arc length).

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