pulseoften

Pulseoften is a coined term used to describe how frequently pulses occur in a timed signal, combining the pulse rate with the regularity of their appearance. It is used as an informal descriptor in discussions of pulsed systems, to capture the overall tendency of a signal to produce discrete events within a given interval rather than focusing on the shape or amplitude of individual pulses. Because it is not standardized, definitions of pulseoften vary; most usages define it as a measure derived from either pulse counts in a window or from inter-pulse intervals and their variability.

Measuring pulseoften can involve counting the number of pulses N within a time window T to form a rate, often expressed as pulses per second, and optionally normalizing by a reference maximum rate to yield a dimensionless value. An alternative view uses the mean inter-pulse interval and its coefficient of variation; lower variability and higher mean rate imply a higher pulseoften in many contexts.

Applications include signal characterization in electronics, communications, and neuroscience, where researchers compare how different systems organize their pulsed output. For example, a steady timer emitting 50 pulses per second with minimal jitter would have a high pulseoften, while a bursty or irregular pattern yields a lower value despite comparable averages.

See also: pulse repetition frequency, inter-pulse interval, duty cycle, burstiness.