Diurnal cycle

Diurnal cycle

A diurnal cycle is any pattern that recurs every 24 hours as a result of one full rotation of the Earth.[1]

In climatology, the diurnal cycle is one of the most basic forms of climate patterns. The most familiar such pattern is the diurnal temperature variation. Such a cycle may be approximately sinusoidal, or include components of a truncated sinusoid (due to the sun's rising and setting).

Practical Example

In telecommunications, the daily temperature cycle from the sun warming the earth causes a diurnal sinusoidal phase shift as the fiber optics or wire cabling expands and contracts.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://en.mimi.hu/meteorology/diurnal_cycle.html



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