Shannon Capacity

Shannon's channel capacity theorem, published in 1948, establishes the maximum rate at which information can be reliably transmitted over a noisy channel. Expressed as C = B log2(1 + S/N) for additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), it is a fundamental bound in information theory and communications engineering. Shannon proved that reliable communication is possible at any rate below capacity, and impossible above it. This theorem underpins the design of all modern communication systems and motivates coding theory, modulation, and signal processing techniques.