Bandabstand

Bandabstand is a German term used in physics, engineering and signal processing to describe the separation between adjacent spectral or frequency bands in a multi-band system. It denotes the distance in frequency between the centers of neighboring bands, or the width of the guard band that separates them, depending on the context. The concept is central to the design of filter banks, channel allocation, and spectral analysis, because adequate band spacing reduces overlap and interference and determines resolution and bandwidth efficiency.

In telecommunications and broadcasting, bandabstand, or channel spacing, is specified to prevent interference between carriers. Typical values vary by standard and band, from a few kilohertz in narrowband systems to hundreds of kilohertz or megahertz in broadband services.

In digital signal processing, band spacing refers to the spacing of channels in a discrete filter bank or multi-band equalizer; tighter spacing increases spectral resolution but requires more processing power and careful anti-aliasing.

In audio engineering, band spacing describes how many equalization bands fit in a frequency range, such as octave-band or third-octave-band spacing; this affects the resolution of equalizers and spectrum analyzers.

In spectroscopy and remote sensing, band spacing relates to the distance between spectral bands or sensor channels, influencing sampling, resolution, and data rates.

Etymology: Band = range of frequencies; Abstand = distance. The precise meaning of bandabstand is context-dependent, but all uses share the core notion of how far apart adjacent spectral components are.