Form factor (electronics)

In electronics, the form factor of an alternating current waveform (signal) is the ratio of the RMS (root mean square) value to the average value (mathematical mean of absolute values of all points on the waveform). It identifies the ratio of the direct current of equal power relative to the given alternating current. The former can also be defined as the direct current that will produce equivalent heat.

For an ideal, continuous wave function over time T, the RMS can be calculated in integral form:

${\displaystyle X_{\mathrm {rms} }={\sqrt {{1 \over {T}}{\int _{t_{0}}^{t_{0}+T}{[x(t)]}^{2}\,dt}}}}$

The rectified average is then the mean of the integral of the function's absolute value:

${\displaystyle X_{\mathrm {arv} }={1 \over {T}}{\int _{t_{0}}^{t_{0}+T}{|x(t)|\,dt}}}$

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