Bytes (B) to Bits (b) conversion

Bytes to Bits conversion table

Bytes (B)Bits (b)
00
18
216
324
432
540
648
756
864
972
1080
20160
30240
40320
50400
60480
70560
80640
90720
100800
10008000

How to convert bytes to bits?

Converting between bytes and bits is a fundamental concept in computer science. It's essential to understand the relationship between these units to work with digital data effectively. There is no difference between bytes and bits in base 10 and base 2 system.

Understanding Bytes and Bits

A bit (short for "binary digit") is the smallest unit of data in a computer. It can have a value of either 0 or 1.

A byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of 8 bits. Historically, other byte sizes have been used, but the 8-bit byte is the standard today.

The Conversion Factor

The relationship between bytes and bits is constant:

1 byte=8 bits1 \text{ byte} = 8 \text{ bits}

Converting Bytes to Bits

To convert bytes to bits, you simply multiply the number of bytes by 8.

Formula:

Bits=Bytes×8\text{Bits} = \text{Bytes} \times 8

Example: Converting 1 Byte to Bits

1 byte=1×8=8 bits1 \text{ byte} = 1 \times 8 = 8 \text{ bits}

Converting Bits to Bytes

To convert bits to bytes, you divide the number of bits by 8.

Formula:

Bytes=Bits8\text{Bytes} = \frac{\text{Bits}}{8}

Example: Converting 1 Bit to Bytes

1 bit=18=0.125 bytes1 \text{ bit} = \frac{1}{8} = 0.125 \text{ bytes}

Real-World Examples

Here are some examples of common quantities converted between bytes and bits:

  • Kilobyte (KB) to Kilobits (kb):

    • 1 KB = 1024 bytes
    • 1 KB = 1024 bytes * 8 bits/byte = 8192 bits = 8.192 kb
  • Megabyte (MB) to Megabits (Mb):

    • 1 MB = 1024 KB = 1,048,576 bytes
    • 1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes * 8 bits/byte = 8,388,608 bits = 8.388608 Mb
  • Gigabyte (GB) to Gigabits (Gb):

    • 1 GB = 1024 MB = 1,073,741,824 bytes
    • 1 GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes * 8 bits/byte = 8,589,934,592 bits = 8.589934592 Gb

Interesting Facts

  • George Boole: George Boole was a 19th-century English mathematician and philosopher. He is best known as the author of The Laws of Thought (1854) which contains Boolean algebra. Boolean algebra is the basis of digital logic that operates on binary variables (bits).
  • Why 8 bits in a byte?: The choice of 8 bits for a byte is often attributed to the design of the IBM System/360 in the 1960s. This architecture became widely adopted, solidifying the 8-bit byte as a standard. The byte size was selected to be large enough to encode all alphanumeric characters and special symbols.
  • Data transfer rates: When discussing internet speeds or data transfer rates, it's common to see the terms "Mbps" or "Kbps." These stand for "Megabits per second" and "Kilobits per second," respectively. It's important to note that these are bits and not bytes, so to calculate the actual download speed in bytes, you would divide the given rate by 8.

See below section for step by step unit conversion with formulas and explanations. Please refer to the table below for a list of all the Bits to other unit conversions.

What is Bytes?

Bytes are fundamental units of digital information, representing a sequence of bits used to encode a single character, a small number, or a part of larger data. Understanding bytes is crucial for grasping how computers store and process information. This section explores the concept of bytes in both base-2 (binary) and base-10 (decimal) systems, their formation, and their real-world applications.

Definition and Formation (Base-2)

In the binary system (base-2), a byte is typically composed of 8 bits. Each bit can be either 0 or 1. Therefore, a byte can represent 28=2562^8 = 256 different values (0-255).

The formation of a byte involves combining these 8 bits in various sequences. For instance, the byte 01000001 represents the decimal value 65, which is commonly used to represent the uppercase letter "A" in the ASCII encoding standard.

Definition and Formation (Base-10)

In the decimal system (base-10), the International System of Units (SI) defines prefixes for multiples of bytes using powers of 1000 (e.g., kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte). These prefixes are often used to represent larger quantities of data.

  • 1 Kilobyte (KB) = 1,000 bytes = 10310^3 bytes
  • 1 Megabyte (MB) = 1,000 KB = 1,000,000 bytes = 10610^6 bytes
  • 1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1,000 MB = 1,000,000,000 bytes = 10910^9 bytes
  • 1 Terabyte (TB) = 1,000 GB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes = 101210^{12} bytes

It's important to note the difference between base-2 and base-10 representations. In base-2, these prefixes are powers of 1024, whereas in base-10, they are powers of 1000. This discrepancy can lead to confusion when interpreting storage capacity.

IEC Binary Prefixes

To address the ambiguity between base-2 and base-10 representations, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) introduced binary prefixes. These prefixes use powers of 1024 (2^10) instead of 1000.

  • 1 Kibibyte (KiB) = 1,024 bytes = 2102^{10} bytes
  • 1 Mebibyte (MiB) = 1,024 KiB = 1,048,576 bytes = 2202^{20} bytes
  • 1 Gibibyte (GiB) = 1,024 MiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes = 2302^{30} bytes
  • 1 Tebibyte (TiB) = 1,024 GiB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes = 2402^{40} bytes

Real-World Examples

Here are some real-world examples illustrating the size of various quantities of bytes:

  • 1 Byte: A single character in a text document (e.g., the letter "A").
  • 1 Kilobyte (KB): A small text file, such as a configuration file or a short email.
  • 1 Megabyte (MB): A high-resolution photograph or a small audio file.
  • 1 Gigabyte (GB): A standard-definition movie or a large software application.
  • 1 Terabyte (TB): A large hard drive or a collection of movies, photos, and documents.

Notable Figures

While no single person is exclusively associated with the invention of the byte, Werner Buchholz is credited with coining the term "byte" in 1956 while working at IBM on the Stretch computer. He chose the term to describe a group of bits that was smaller than a "word," a term already in use.

What is Bits?

This section will define what a bit is in the context of digital information, how it's formed, its significance, and real-world examples. We'll primarily focus on the binary (base-2) interpretation of bits, as that's their standard usage in computing.

Definition of a Bit

A bit, short for "binary digit," is the fundamental unit of information in computing and digital communications. It represents a logical state with one of two possible values: 0 or 1, which can also be interpreted as true/false, yes/no, on/off, or high/low.

Formation of a Bit

In physical terms, a bit is often represented by an electrical voltage or current pulse, a magnetic field direction, or an optical property (like the presence or absence of light). The specific physical implementation depends on the technology used. For example, in computer memory (RAM), a bit can be stored as the charge in a capacitor or the state of a flip-flop circuit. In magnetic storage (hard drives), it's the direction of magnetization of a small area on the disk.

Significance of Bits

Bits are the building blocks of all digital information. They are used to represent:

  • Numbers
  • Text characters
  • Images
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Software instructions

Complex data is constructed by combining multiple bits into larger units, such as bytes (8 bits), kilobytes (1024 bytes), megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, and so on.

Bits in Base-10 (Decimal) vs. Base-2 (Binary)

While bits are inherently binary (base-2), the concept of a digit can be generalized to other number systems.

  • Base-2 (Binary): As described above, a bit is a single binary digit (0 or 1).
  • Base-10 (Decimal): In the decimal system, a "digit" can have ten values (0 through 9). Each digit represents a power of 10. While less common to refer to a decimal digit as a "bit", it's important to note the distinction in the context of data representation. Binary is preferable for the fundamental building blocks.

Real-World Examples

  • Memory (RAM): A computer's RAM is composed of billions of tiny memory cells, each capable of storing a bit of information. For example, a computer with 8 GB of RAM has approximately 8 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024 * 8 = 68,719,476,736 bits of memory.
  • Storage (Hard Drive/SSD): Hard drives and solid-state drives store data as bits. The capacity of these devices is measured in terabytes (TB), where 1 TB = 1024 GB.
  • Network Bandwidth: Network speeds are often measured in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (kbps), megabits per second (Mbps), or gigabits per second (Gbps). A 100 Mbps connection can theoretically transmit 100,000,000 bits of data per second.
  • Image Resolution: The color of each pixel in a digital image is typically represented by a certain number of bits. For example, a 24-bit color image uses 24 bits to represent the color of each pixel (8 bits for red, 8 bits for green, and 8 bits for blue).
  • Audio Bit Depth: The quality of digital audio is determined by its bit depth. A higher bit depth allows for a greater dynamic range and lower noise. Common bit depths for audio are 16-bit and 24-bit.

Historical Note

Claude Shannon, often called the "father of information theory," formalized the concept of information and its measurement in bits in his 1948 paper "A Mathematical Theory of Communication." His work laid the foundation for digital communication and data compression. You can find more about him on the Wikipedia page for Claude Shannon.

Complete Bytes conversion table

Enter # of Bytes
Convert 1 B to other unitsResult
Bytes to Bits (B to b)8
Bytes to Kilobits (B to Kb)0.008
Bytes to Kibibits (B to Kib)0.0078125
Bytes to Megabits (B to Mb)0.000008
Bytes to Mebibits (B to Mib)0.00000762939453125
Bytes to Gigabits (B to Gb)8e-9
Bytes to Gibibits (B to Gib)7.4505805969238e-9
Bytes to Terabits (B to Tb)8e-12
Bytes to Tebibits (B to Tib)7.2759576141834e-12
Bytes to Kilobytes (B to KB)0.001
Bytes to Kibibytes (B to KiB)0.0009765625
Bytes to Megabytes (B to MB)0.000001
Bytes to Mebibytes (B to MiB)9.5367431640625e-7
Bytes to Gigabytes (B to GB)1e-9
Bytes to Gibibytes (B to GiB)9.3132257461548e-10
Bytes to Terabytes (B to TB)1e-12
Bytes to Tebibytes (B to TiB)9.0949470177293e-13