ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Whittaker–Shannon interpolation formula

Alright kiddo, have you ever had a picture that was blurry or pixelated and you couldn't really see what was going on? Well, sometimes when we take measurements of things or sample data, we end up with similar blurry pictures that make it tough to really see what's going on.

That's where the Whittaker-Shannon interpolation formula comes in. It helps us take those measurements or samples and turn them into a clearer picture by filling in the gaps between the data points.

Think of it like connecting the dots in a drawing. If you have a certain set of dots on a page, you can draw lines between them to make a picture. The Whittaker-Shannon interpolation formula does something similar. It takes the data points we have and creates a mathematical formula that connects those points to fill in the gaps in between.

Now, this formula is pretty fancy, and it involves some pretty advanced math such as calculus and the Fourier transform. But what it really does is use a process called "sampling" to figure out what's going on between the data points.

In simpler terms, it's like zooming in on an image - when you do that, you can see more detail and get a clearer picture. The Whittaker-Shannon formula does something similar by "zooming in" on the data and helping us see what's happening between the points we already know about.

So, the Whittaker-Shannon interpolation formula is really just a fancy mathematical tool that helps us turn blurry pictures into clear ones - kind of like putting on a pair of glasses so you can see better.