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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

positif montant

English translation:

positive increasing

Added to glossary by laenai
Feb 27, 2011 09:24
13 yrs ago
French term

positif montant

French to English Tech/Engineering Mathematics & Statistics
Hi - I am translating a text about numerology. This is a section on the meaning of individual numbers, specifically the number 4. The author lists different things that come in groups of four (four seasons, etc) and ends with "les quatre états d'une courbe sinusoïdale (positif montant, positif descendant, négatif descendant, négatif montant)... "

I have found one other example of this being used in a text which is not by the same author but surprisingly similar..! Here is the link: http://www.luminescence.be/spip.php?article67

I have looked at many websites dealing with sinusoidal curves but can't seem to see what the "positif montant, positif descendant, négatif descendant, négatif montant" refers to.

If anyone has any idea then I would be most grateful! Thank you all in advance.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 positive increasing
3 +1 positive increasing

Discussion

meirs Feb 27, 2011:
Not to delve into imaginary numbers where a sine is the real part of a unit size rotating vector...
claude-andrew Feb 27, 2011:
I absolutely agree with Terry about not getting hung up on technology. Nevertheless, the quote does refer to a sinusoidal signal - presumably the author wanted to display his knowledge of the terminology! - in which case, the translation should reflect this.
Terry Richards Feb 27, 2011:
Numerology... Given that the topic is numerology and the text in question is one of a list of examples of a minor point, I don't think it is useful to get too hung up on the terminology. Also, the example itself is not drawn from numerology so any discussion of what terms are appropriate to numerology is a bit pointless. For all I know, numerologists refer to "levitating" and "tumbling into the pit" :)
chris collister Feb 27, 2011:
O lark rise or lark ascending? One may indeed talk of rising wave fronts, but this terminology is rarely (if ever) used in mathematics, for example. Since the topic is numerology, I feel that electronic conventions are less likely to apply.
claude-andrew Feb 27, 2011:
I agree with meirs - for example, we speak of "rise time". I'd say "rising positive" etc.
meirs Feb 27, 2011:
rise, fall (ing) are the terms used (in electronics & electrical engineering) to describe the tendency of a wave shape. A sinusoidal wave has 2 halves - one positive, one negative, and each half has a rising and a falling half of its own (quarter of the entire cycle). Ascending and descending are not used in this context.

Proposed translations

+1
6 mins
Selected

positive increasing

As it says: if you plot a complete cycle of a sine curve (from 0 to 360°, or 2pi radians), the first 1/4 cycle is positive (ie >0) with a positive slope (upwards, or increasing), the second 1/4 cycle is positive, but with negative slope, the third is negative with negative slope, while the 4th is negative with positive slope.
Peer comment(s):
agree Terry Richards : I guess you type faster :)
3 mins
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you so much for both the answer and the detailed explanation. Thanks to all the people who provided explanations - all very helpful!"
+1
8 mins

positive increasing

If you look at the shape of a sine wave, it can be divided into 4 parts. It is either above the axis (positive) or below (negative) and it is either hading upwards (increasig) or downwards (decreasing). You can actually start the curve anywhere but the most normal representation is to start at zero going upwards (positive increasing) until the curve reaches the highest point when it becomes positive decreasing. And so on until you get back to where you started.
Peer comment(s):
agree chris collister : I guess so! At least we get the same definition!
1 hr
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