Definition: Shannon's law

A formula in the information theory of Claude Shannon (1916-2001) for determining the maximum, error-free rate of a digital communications channel. It is based on the channel's bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio. See information theory and laws.

      Shannon's Law

      C = maximum data rate of channel
      W = bandwidth of channel
      S = signal-to-noise ratio

      C = W log2(1 + S)