Which of the following describes "spectral leakage"?

A) The loss of data during sampling

B) The spreading of signal energy across multiple frequencies in the spectrum

C) The reduction of signal quality due to noise

D) The inability to reconstruct the original signal

Answer: B) The spreading of signal energy across multiple frequencies in the spectrum

Explanation: Spectral leakage occurs when a signal is not periodic within the sampled window, causing its energy to spread across multiple frequency bins in the Fourier transform, which can distort the frequency representation.