Often the signals being compared are electrical (electromagnetic) in nature, though it is also possible to apply the term to sound and light stimuli.
Due to the definition of decibel the SNR gave the same result independent of the type of signal which is evaluated (power, current, voltage).
SNR is also usually taken to mean an average signal to noise ratio, as it is possible that (near) instantaneous signal to noise ratios will be considerably different.
The SNR in decibels is 20 times the base-10 logarithm of the amplitude ratio, or 10 times the logarithm of the power ratio. See decibel.
Higher signal to noise is better i.e. cleaner.
SINAD: Abbreviation for signal-plus-noise-plus-distortion to noise-plus-distortion ratio.
Note: The SINAD is usually expressed in dB.
Source: from Federal Standard 1037C in support of MIL-STD-188
In common usage, "signal-to-noise ratio" describes the ratio of useful information to false or irrelevant information, for example in an online discussion forum[?].
The term has been used e.g. on Usenet, where off-topic posts and spam are regarded as "noise" that interferes with the "signal" of interesting discussion.
Many Internet users prefer moderated forums, for instance, because moderation can improve the SNR of a forum. The Wiki collaboration model addresses the same question in a different way, by granting every user the power to "moderate" content. The assumption is that a majority of users are motivated by belief in the project goals, which leads to improved SNR by making it easier to add "signal" than "noise".
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