peak

(noun)

The highest value reached by some quantity in a time period.

Related Terms

Examples of peak in the following topics:

  • The Business Cycle: Definition and Phases

    • Business cycles are identified as having four distinct phases: expansion, peak, contraction, and trough.
    • A peak is realized when the economy is producing at its maximum allowable output, employment is at or above full employment, and inflationary pressures on prices are evident.
    • In the United States, it is generally accepted that the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is the final arbiter of the dates of the peaks and troughs of the business cycle.
    • An expansion is the period from a trough to a peak, and a recession as the period from a peak to a trough.
    • The phases of a business cycle follow a wave-like pattern over time with regard to GDP, with expansion leading to a peak and then followed by contraction leading to a trough.

  • Introduction to the Fourier Series

    • You'll notice in the tiltmeter spectrum that the two peaks (diurnal and semi-diurnal seem to be split; i.e., there are actually two peaks centered on 1 cycle/day and two peaks centered on 2 cycles/day.
    • Notice that the peaks in the power occur at integer multiples of the frequency of the first peak (the nominal frequency of a low C).
    • Given what we know about the physics of tilt, we should expect that the diurnal tide (once per day) should peak at 1 cycle per day, while the semi-diurnal tide (twice per day) should peak at 2 cycles per day.
    • The first peak on the right occurs at the nominal frequency of low C.
    • Notice that all the higher peaks occur at integer multiples of the frequency of the first (fundamental) peak.

  • The Speed of a Wave on a String

    • Transverse waves have what are called peaks and troughs.
    • The peak is the crest, or top point of the wave and the trough is the valley or bottom point of the wave.
    • Refer to Figure 2 for a visual representation of these terms.The amplitude is the maximum displacement of a particle from its equilibrium position.Wavelength, usually denoted with a lambda (λ) and measured in meters, is the distance from either one peak to the next peak, or one trough to the next trough.Period, usually denoted as T and measured in seconds, is the time it takes for two successive peaks, or one wavelength, to pass through a fixed point.Frequency, f, is the number of wavelengths that pass through a given point in 1 second.
    • Peaks are the top most points of the waves and troughs are the bottom, or valleys of the waves.

  • Maturity

    • During the maturity stage, sales will peak as the product reaches market saturation, and competition will grow increasingly fierce.
    • Ultimately, during this stage, sales will peak.
    • But, these sales will peak and ultimately decline, as the graph shows.
    • This stage of the product life cycle shows that sales will eventually peak and then slow down.

  • Velocity and Duration of Muscle Contraction

    • In a twitch contraction, a short burst of stimulation causes the muscle to contract, but the duration is so short that the muscle begins relaxing before reaching peak force.
    • If the stimulation is long enough, the muscle reaches peak force and plateaus at this level, resulting in a tetanic contraction.
    • Twitch contractions are short in duration and though they have high velocity, they begin resting before reaching peak force.
    • Tetanic contractions, which are long in duration, reach peak force and plateau.

  • Phasors

    • The amplitude A characterizes the peak-to-peak swing of 2A, the angular frequency ω characterizes the period T=2π/ω between negative- to-positive zero crossings (or positive peaks or negative peaks), and the phase θ characterizes the time τ=−θ/ω when the signal reaches its first peak.
    • When τ is positive, then τ is a "time delay" that describes the time (greater than zero) when the first peak is achieved.
    • When τ is negative, then τ is a "time advance" that describes the time (less than zero) when the last peak was achieved.
    • Simply draw a cosinusoidal wave with amplitude A and period T; then strike the origin (t=0) so that the signal reaches its peak at τ.

  • Introduction

    • Small companies might be interested in the number of long distance phone calls their employees make during the peak time of the day.
    • What is the probability that the employees make more than 20 long distance phone calls during the peak time?

  • Reflections

    • Transverse waves have what are called peaks and troughs.
    • The peak is the crest, or top point of the wave and the trough is the valley or bottom point of the wave.
    • Wavelength, usually denoted with a lambda (λ) and measured in meters, is the distance from either one peak to the next peak, or one trough to the next trough.
    • Period, usually denoted as T and measured in seconds, is the time it takes for two successive peaks, or one wavelength, to pass through a fixed point.
    • This swaps the peaks with the troughs and the troughs with the peaks.

  • Histograms and shape

    • A mode is represented by a prominent peak in the distribution.
    • There is only one prominent peak in the histogram of num_char.
    • Figure 1.22 shows histograms that have one, two, or three prominent peaks.
    • Any distribution with more than 2 prominent peaks is called multimodal.
    • Notice that there was one prominent peak in the unimodal distribution with a second less prominent peak that was not counted since it only differs from its neighboring bins by a few observations.

  • Seasonal Production

    • If a company buys too many papers it is left with unsold papers that have no value after the seasonal peak; if it buys too few papers it has lost the opportunity of making a higher profit.
    • Companies are also supposed to stock inventory early since there will be other producers competing for the same production materials during peak period.
    • It is advisable that a company has healthy cash flow during seasonal peak so that it can order promptly and easily.