Editing Nonlinear distortion (section)

==Effects of nonlinearity==
Nonlinearity can have several effects, which are unwanted in typical situations. The <math>a_3</math> term for example would, when the input is a [[sine]] wave with frequency <math>\omega</math>, result in an extra sine wave at <math>3\omega</math>, as shown below.

<math>v = (a_1 + \frac{3}{4}a_3) sin(\omega t) - \frac{1}{4}a_3 sin(3\omega t)</math>

In certain situations, this spurious signal can be filtered away because the "[[harmonic]]" <math>3\omega</math> lies far outside the frequency range used, but in cable television, for example, third order distortion could cause a 200&nbsp;MHz signal to interfere with the regular channel at 600&nbsp;MHz. 

Nonlinear distortion applied to a superposition of two signals at different frequencies causes the circuit to act as a [[frequency mixer]], creating [[intermodulation distortion]].

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[[Category:Electrical parameters]]