white noise

white noise (uncountable)

1. (physics) A random signal (or process) with a flat power spectral density; a signal with a power spectral density that has equal power in any band, at any centre frequency, having a given bandwidth.
   • 2005, John G. Holden, Gauging the Fractal Dimension of Response Times from Cognitive Tasks

     Conventional statistical analyses presuppose that intrinsic variability is white noise. White noise yields a jagged and irregular line with a fractal dimension of 1.5, because successive observations are statistically independent of each other.

2. (nontechnically) Any nondescript noise used for background or to mask or drown out other noise.

• pink noise, red noise, blue noise, violet noise, grey noise
• prewhiten