About this issue [special issue on the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)]

This special issue is an outgrowth of standardization activities in audio and electroacoustics. In 1960, Subcommittee 30.4 on Methods of Measurement of Noise of the IRE Audio and Electroacoustics Committee (Technical Committee 30) became concerned with the characterization and measurement of quantities having a short duration. The subject of this special issue, the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), is a technique that substantially reduces the time required to perform Fourier analysis on a computer. The first paper, was prepared by members of the Concepts Subcommittee (formerly 30.4) as a general survey of the subject. The second paper, is the keynote paper presented by C. Bingham, Jr., at the Power Spectrum Workshop. Short contributions prepared by four of the workshop panelists follow the keynote paper. Each panelist was at liberty to submit his contribution as an informal discussion or as a formal paper. These short contributions are followed by "Historical Notes on the Fast Fourier Transform," by J.W. Cooley, P.A.W. Lewis, and P.D. Welch. The remainder of the special issue is given to five papers on applications of the Fast Fourier Transform. These papers discuss mathematical developments as well as experimental results obtained by use of the Fast Fourier Transform for the solution of engineering problems.