Pulse
A smooth, repeating rise and fall in light intensity over time.
Unit Type
Hz - the strobe or modulation rate in cycles per second. Higher Hz values produce faster, more intense flickering, while lower values create slower, more deliberate pulses. BPM - the strobe or modulation rate in musical beats per minute. This allows lighting effects to synchronize naturally with music or rhythmic cues, aligning pulses to the tempo of a track or performance.
Unit
Decimal
amount applied to the unit type
A pulse lighting event is modeled as a sine wave because a sine function produces a smooth, continuous rise and fall over time, which matches how a pulse is intended to behave visually.
In this context, light intensity is mapped to the value of a sine wave as time progresses:
The crest of the sine wave represents peak intensity.
The trough represents minimum intensity.
The zero crossings define the midpoint or base intensity.
As time advances, the sine wave oscillates, causing the light to gradually brighten, reach a maximum, then smoothly dim and repeat. This avoids abrupt transitions and hard edges, producing an organic, rhythmic motion often described as a “breathing” effect.
Because sine waves are mathematically smooth and periodic, they are ideal for pulse lighting events that need consistent timing, predictable behavior, and visually pleasing transitions without flicker.
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