bandwidth

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(bănd'wĭdth', -wĭth') pronunciation
n.
  1. The numerical difference between the upper and lower frequencies of a band of electromagnetic radiation, especially an assigned range of radio frequencies.
  2. The amount of data that can be passed along a communications channel in a given period of time.


Variant: kernel density estimation

A method for the estimation of probability density functions. Suppose X is a continuous random variable with unknown probability density function f. A random sample of observations of X is taken. If the sample values are denoted by x1, x2,..., xn, the estimate of f is given by




where K is a kernel function and the constant A is chosen so that



The observation xj may be regarded as being spread out between xja and xj+b (usually with a=b). The result is that the naive estimate of f as being a function capable of taking values only at x1, x2,..., xn, is replaced by a continuous function having peaks where the data are densest. Examples of kernel functions are the Gaussian kernel,



and the Epanechikov kernel,



,
The constant h is the window width or bandwidth. The choice of h is critical: small values may retain the spikes of the naive estimate, and large values may oversmooth so that important aspects of f are lost.



Kernel method. In this case a sample of twenty observations have been generated randomly from a chi-squared distribution with twenty degrees of freedom and a Gaussian kernel with h=3 has been used to generate the kernel density estimate.
,



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In radio astronomy, the range of frequencies occupied by a signal or to which a detector is sensitive.

Measurement of the capacity of a communications signal. For digital signals, the bandwidth is the data speed or rate, measured in bits per second (bps). For analog signals, it is the difference between the highest and lowest frequency components, measured in hertz (cycles per second). For example, a modem with a bandwidth of 56 kilobits per second (Kbps) can transmit a maximum of about 56,000 bits of digital data in one second. The human voice, which produces analog sound waves, has a typical bandwidth of three kilohertz between the highest and lowest frequency sounds it can generate.

For more information on bandwidth, visit Britannica.com.

1. [common] Used by hackers (in a generalization of its technical meaning) as the volume of information per unit time that a computer, person, or transmission medium can handle. “Those are amazing graphics, but I missed some of the detail — not enough bandwidth, I guess.” Compare low-bandwidth; see also brainwidth. This generalized usage began to go mainstream after the Internet population explosion of 1993-1994.

2. Attention span.

3. On Usenet, a measure of network capacity that is often wasted by people complaining about how items posted by others are a waste of bandwidth.


The data transfer capacity of a network. It is measured in bits per second.

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If your Internet connection is slower than a three-toed sloth, it's probably because of a lack of bandwidth.

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Width of the band of frequencies between the half power points.


(DOD) The difference between the limiting frequencies of a continuous frequency band expressed in hertz (cycles per second). The term bandwidth is also loosely used to refer to the rate at which data can be transmitted over a given communications circuit. In the latter usage, bandwidth is usually expressed in either kilobits per second or megabits per second.

i. The range of frequencies, above and/or below the frequency of a carrier wave, required for modulation of a signal. It is the width of the transmitted frequency spectrum (the difference between the highest and the lowest frequency) of a modulated signal.

Picture 1 of bandwidth


ii. A band of error, usually expressed in nautical miles on each side of the position line on the track. See band of error.
iii. The range of frequencies between which an aerial performs to the specified standard.
iv. The space in the frequency domain occupied by signals of a specified nature (e.g., radar, TV).
v. The number of cycles per second between the limits of a frequency band.
vi. In information theory, the information-carrying capacity of a communications channel.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'bandwidth'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to bandwidth, see:
  • Data Transmission - bandwidth: smallest range of frequencies within which certain signal can be transmitted


Bandwidth has several related meanings:

  • Bandwidth (signal processing) or analog bandwidth, frequency bandwidth or radio bandwidth: a measure of the width of a range of frequencies, measured in hertz
  • Bandwidth (computing) or digital bandwidth: a rate of data transfer, bit rate or throughput, measured in bits per second (bps)
  • Spectral linewidth: the width of an atomic or molecular spectral line, measured in hertz

Bandwidth can also refer to:


Misspellings:

bandwidth

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Common misspelling(s) of bandwidth

  • bandwith

Translations:

Bandwidth

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - båndbredde

Français (French)
n. - (Comput) largeur de bandes

Deutsch (German)
n. - Bandbreite

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ραδιοφωνική συχνότητα, εύρος ζώνης (δεδομένα που μεταδίδονται ανά δευτερόλεπτο)

Español (Spanish)
n. - anchura de la banda, (informática) cantidad de información, rango de frecuencias

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bandbredd, frekvensområde, datamängd

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
带宽, 频宽

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 帶寬, 頻寬

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 띠폭(주파수 폭)

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مدى الترددات ( راديو), كميه البيانات ( كومبيوتر)‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮רצועת התדירויות הצרה ביותר בה ניתן לשדר סימן מסוים ללא שיבושים‬


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Mentioned in

wide-band ratio (communications)
relative bandwidth (electronics)
broadband path (communications)
subvoice-grade channel (communications)
bandwidth limited (technology)