# Impulse response
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## Microsims — p5.js
### Impulse response (p5.js) · `h(t)`
<div class="microsim-player">
<iframe src="https://editor.p5js.org/sciencenibber/full/hmQf5m_L1" width="100%" height="480" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin" title="Impulse response — p5.js microsim"></iframe>
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*A system's output to a single spike; know it and you know how the system treats everything, by convolution.*
**Open in the editor:** [▶ fork this sketch](https://editor.p5js.org/sciencenibber/sketches/hmQf5m_L1) · movement *III · Filters & filter design* · library `p5js`
### Related microsims
Live sims on neighbouring articles — 6 of them inside this article's own Wikipedia link tree:
- [[Control_theory]] *(in tree)*
- [[Convolution]] *(in tree)*
- [[Digital_signal_processing]] *(in tree)*
- [[Fourier_analysis]] *(in tree)*
- [[Frequency_domain]] *(in tree)*
- [[Frequency_response]] *(in tree)*
*Sim hosted off-article; the article owns the reference, not the runtime (WIKI_RULES §10.4). Placed by `g08_place_microsims.py`.*
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## Links (Wikipedia order)
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`Acoustic_guitar` · `Adaptive_filter` · `Amplifier_modeling` · `Audio_crossover` · `Broadband` · `Complex_plane` · `Consumption_(economics)` · [[Control_theory]] · [[Convolution]] · [[Digital_signal_processing]] · `Digital_subscriber_line` · `Dirac_delta_function` · `Duhamel's_principle` · `Dynamic_stochastic_general_equilibrium` · `Economic_Modelling` · `Economics` · `Employment` · `Exogenous_and_endogenous_variables` · `F._Alton_Everest` · `Fiscal_policy` · [[Fourier_analysis]] · [[Frequency_domain]] · [[Frequency_response]] · `Function_(mathematics)` · `Fundamental_solution` · `Gibbs_phenomenon` · `Government_spending` · `Green's_function` · `Helmut_Lütkepohl` · `Inverse_Laplace_transform` · `Investment` · `James_D._Hamilton` · `Kronecker_delta` · `Küssner_effect` · [[Laplace_transform]] · `Linear_response_function` · [[Linear_time-invariant_system]] · [[Loudspeaker]] · `Maximum_length_sequence` · `Monetary_base` · `Monetary_policy` · `Point_spread_function` · `Pre-echo` · `Production_function` · `Pulse_(signal_processing)` · `Radar` · `Shock_(economics)` · [[Signal_processing]] · `Step_response` · `System_analysis` · `Tax_rate` · `Time-invariant_system` · `Time_constant` · [[Time_domain]] · `Total_factor_productivity` · [[Transfer_function]] · `Transient_response` · `Utility` · `Variation_of_parameters` · `Vector_autoregression`
> Signal Processing concept · part of the Signal Processing Portal · movement III · !24 回路 kairo.svg
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*Rendered from the live microsim (▶ motion).*
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## See it next
[](Frequency_response)
*→ [[Frequency_response|Frequency response]]*
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---
Back to Signal Processing Portal · the room · Semiotic gateway
## What it is
The impulse response is the output a system produces when its input is a single unit impulse — a spike concentrated at one instant.
## How it works / why it matters
For a linear time-invariant system, the impulse response completely characterizes the system: the response to any input is obtained by convolving that input with the impulse response. Its Fourier transform is the frequency response, tying the time and frequency descriptions together. Whether the impulse response has finite or infinite duration distinguishes FIR from IIR filters.
## Signs & universals
Instantiates: signal filter frequency
## Related
[[Frequency_response]] · Finite impulse response · Infinite impulse response · [[Convolution]] · [[Linear_time-invariant_system]] · Filter (signal processing)
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*Built to the [[WT!P5_js_Microsim_Master_Class|p5.js Master Class]].*
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## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_response) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Impulse_response)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parent: [[Control_theory]].
Legacy hubs: none.
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*Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*