A rare BSTJ offprint

Shannon, Claude E. [Elwood]

Probability of Error for Optimal Codes in a Gaussian Channel [Bell System Technical Journal Offprint]

[New York, NY]: [Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated] May 1959. First Separate Edition. 611-656 pages. 8 15/16 x 6 inches. (227 x 150 mm) Self-wrappers stapled at spine. All copies examined have one gathering (pages 611-642) plus pages 643-656 stapled at the rear (but not integral to a signature, each leaf loose), presumably as issued. Fine. Wraps. [28685]


The Bell System Technical Journal, Vol 38, pp 611-656, May 1959 first published this paper, offered here as an offprint. Also published later in the Bell Telephone System Technical Publications Monograph series, #3259 (July 1959).

"A study is made of coding and decoding systems for a continuous channel with an additive gaussian noise and subject to an average power limitation at the transmitter. Upper and lower bounds are found for the error probability in decoding with optimal codes and decoding systems. These bounds are close together for signaling rates near channel capacity and also for signaling rates near zero but diverge between. Curves exhibiting these bounds are given." (abstract)

We note that this is one of the very first Bell System Technical Journal offprints we have seen. "Reprinted from the Bell System Technical Journal | Vol. XXXVII, No. 3, May 1959 | Printed in U.S.A." is printed upper on the first page. The Origins of Cyberspace copy "offprint" was (based on the noted measurements) the Bell System Monograph series later printing rather than this offprint.

PROVENANCE: The personal files of Claude E. Shannon (unmarked). There were multiple examples of this item in Shannon's files.

REFERENCES:
Sloane and Wyner, "Claude Elwood Shannon Collected Papers," #117
Hook and Norman, "Origins of Cyberspace," #898

Price: $225.00