Measurements & Units
"B" and "b" mean two different things - "B" stands for bytes, and "b" stands for bits.
Time
| Second |
1 second |
1s |
| Millisecond |
1/1,000 of a second |
0.001s |
| Microsecond |
1/1,000,000 of a second |
0.000001s |
| Nanosecond |
1/1,000,000,000 of a second |
0.000000001s |
Clock Cycle and Frequency
Hertz (Hz) measures the frequency of periodic events like sound waves, electromagnetic waves, and computer clock speeds.
| Hz |
1 cycle per second |
| KHz |
1,000 cycles per second |
| MHz |
1,000,000 cycles per second |
| GHz |
1,000,000,000 cycles per second |
| THz |
1,000,000,000,000 cycles per second |
Data Storage Sizes
Bytes are a unit of digital information, typically composed of 8 bits, that act as the smallest addressable unit of a computer's memory.
Binary digits (bits) are the smallest unit of data in computing, representing a logical state of either 0 or 1. To represent complex data (characters, numbers, and images etc.), bits are grouped into bytes (8 bits).
Binary (Base 2)
| KiB |
2^10 |
1,024 bytes |
| MiB |
2^20 |
1,048,576 bytes |
| GiB |
2^30 |
1,073,741,824 bytes |
| TiB |
2^40 |
1,099,511,627,776 bytes |
Decimal (Base 10)
| KB |
10^3 |
1,000 bytes |
| MB |
10^6 |
1,000,000 bytes |
| GB |
10^9 |
1,000,000,000 bytes |
| TB |
10^12 |
1,000,000,000,000 bytes |
Data Transmission & Transfer Speeds
Data transfer speeds measure how fast data moves over a network (internet speed) or the bitrate of audio/video files.
| Kbps |
10^3 |
1,000 bits per second |
| Mbps |
10^6 |
1,000,000 bits per second |
| Gbps |
10^9 |
1,000,000,000 bits per second |
| Tbps |
10^12 |
1,000,000,000,000 bits per second |
Data Types
| Unsigned Integer |
8 bits |
| Signed Integer |
1 bit (sign), 7 bits remaining |
CPU Architecture & Data Width
CPU architecture defines how processors execute instructions.
Data width dictates the size of integers and memory addresses they can process at once.
| 8-bit |
1 byte |
2^8 |
256 |
| 16-bit |
2 bytes |
2^16 |
65,536 |
| 32-bit |
4 bytes |
2^32 |
4,294,967,296 |
| 64-bit |
8 bytes |
2^64 |
18,446,744,073,709,551,616 |
| 128-bit |
16 bytes |
2^128 |
340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 |
Electric Charge
| Coulomb |
6.24 × 10^18 |
6,24,000,000,000,000,000 electrons per second |
Amperage
| Nanoampere |
1 billionth of an ampere |
nA |
0.000000001 A |
Incredibly tiny currents in microelectronics and sensitive sensors |
| Microampere |
1 millionth of an ampere |
µA |
0.000001 A |
Very tiny current for electronics and sensors |
| Milliampere |
1 thousandth of an ampere |
mA |
0.001 A |
LEDs and small electronics |
| Ampere |
1 ampere |
A |
1 A |
Household circuits and appliances |
| Kiloampere |
1 thousand amperes |
kA |
1,000 A |
Large industrial systems |
| Megaampere |
1 million amperes |
MA |
1,000,000 A |
Nuclear fusion |
Wattage
| Watt |
1 watt |
W |
1 joule of energy per second |
A low-power LED light bulb or a small electronic component |
| Kilowatt |
1,000 watts |
kW |
1,000 joule of energy per second |
Appliances like microwaves or heaters |
| Megawatt |
1,000,000 watts |
MW |
1,000,000 joules of energy per second |
Large power plants, wind turbines, or industrial-scale buildings. |
Watt-hours measure the total amount of electricity used, stored, or produced over time.
| Watt-hour |
1 watt-hour |
Wh |
Running a 1-watt LED for 1 hour |
| Kilowatt-hours |
1,000 watt-hours |
kWh |
Running a 1000-watt space heater for 1 hour |
| Megawatt |
1,000,000 watt-hours |
MWh |
Running an average home for about 1 month |