ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Bandwidth (signal processing)

Bandwidth refers to the amount of information that can be sent over a communication channel in a given amount of time.

Think of it like a big pipe that water flows through. The pipe's size determines how much water can flow through it at any given time. Likewise, the bandwidth of a communication channel determines how much information can flow through it at any given time.

For example, if your internet connection has a bandwidth of 50 megabits per second, it means that up to 50 megabits of data can be sent or received every second. This is like the water flowing through the pipe at a certain rate.

Higher bandwidth means more information can be sent over the channel in the same amount of time, and lower bandwidth means less information can be sent.

In the context of signal processing, bandwidth often refers to the range of frequencies that a signal can contain. If a signal has a high bandwidth, it means that it contains many different frequencies, and vice versa.

For example, a sound wave can have a low or high bandwidth depending on the range of frequencies it contains. A low-frequency sound like a bass note has a smaller bandwidth than a high-frequency sound like a flute or violin.

In summary, bandwidth is like the capacity of a communication channel or the range of frequencies that a signal can have. It determines how much information can be sent over a channel in a given amount of time or how many frequencies a signal can contain.