How many megabytes are in a gigabyte, bits in a byte (or kilobyte) and what kind of units of information are they? Bytes, Bits, Kilobits - How much of what is in what? What is a beat

Do you know how much memory your computer has for storing information? You're always confused about what it is KB (kilobyte), MB (megabyte), GB (gigabyte)?

In this article we will try to find out what it is kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, and also which of them is greater K.B. or M.B. or G.B.?

Bit concept

Bit(English) bit) is defined as a variable that can only have two values ​​- 1 or 0. A bit is a bit of binary code. It is the various combinations of 1 and 0 that underlie the storage of information and the assignment of various commands in computer technology.

Byte

A block of digital information in computing is called byte(English) byte). This is an ordered set of bits. Historically, a byte was the number of bits used to encode one text character in a computer. Byte size is generally hardware dependent, but it is now generally accepted that one byte is equal to 8 bits, and is always a multiple of 2. The number of bits for storing information is always a multiple of 2. A byte is also called “ octet"(lat. octet). Thus, a byte is the smallest piece of data that can be processed by any type of computer.

Who is more KB or MB?

We figured out what bits and bytes are in the computer world. The next term we need to know is kilobyte (KB). In binary A kilobyte is 1024 bytes and is represented as 2 to the tenth power. In decimal terms, a kilobyte is often equated to 1000 bytes. This is where the confusion in the designation of memory volumes begins. Decimal kilobytes are always smaller than binary kilobytes, which in turn are more precise.

As with Kilobytes, Megabytes also has two meanings. When the calculation is done in binary system, then A megabyte is equal to 1048576 bytes or 2 to the 20th power. The decimal system uses the concept of Megabyte equal to 1,000,000 bytes. In the decimal system, Mb is often taken to be megabit.

Users often ask what's more K.B. or M.B.? Even greater confusion is caused by computer equipment manufacturers themselves, who use the concepts of kilobytes or megabytes in both the decimal system and in binary format when describing the parameters of their products. For example, hard drive manufacturers often indicate the capacity on the label in the decimal system. Therefore, a hard drive with a specified capacity of 160GB actually has 163840 megabytes of memory.

Below is a correspondence table in binary system

1 bit = 1 or 0
1 nibble = 4 bits
1 byte = 8 bits
1 KB (one kilobyte) = 1024 bytes
1 MB (one megabyte) = 1024 KB = 1048576 bytes

Now let's understand the terms kilobit And megabit and where they are used. These terms are used to refer to the data transfer speed of a local network or Internet. The answer to the question, which is more in a mathematical sense, is presented in the following table.

1 kbit/s = 1000 bits per second
1 Mbit/s = 1,000,000 bits per second

From the article it becomes clear that MB is always greater than KB, regardless of which number system you use - binary or decimal.

There is also a difference in the spelling of these concepts. There is no shortened name for the beat. Therefore, the term used to refer to 1,000,000 bits is Gbit, and for 1000000 bytes the abbreviation is used 1 GB.

The following abbreviations are used to indicate data transfer rates: 1 kilobit = kbps, and 1 kilobyte = Kbps or kBps.

A bit is one of the most famous quantities of information in the world. The first use of the word bit was proposed by Claude Shannon in 1948. It can be defined by Shannon as the binary logarithm of the probability of equally probable events or as a basic unit of measurement of information. It is possible to implement the bit as single-phase and two-phase. Did anyone understand anything..?

Nota Bene... If you came to this article to get answers to the questions:

Bits, bytes.....Theory

So, as already mentioned, the concept of “beat” was introduced by Claude Shannon in 1948.

What is a beat?

Simply put, a bit is a unit of information. It can take two values ​​- in computer science it is “1” or “0”. "True" or "False". "True" or "False". In electronics, “1” and “0” differ in voltage. So, based on the voltage value, any device can understand “1” it was sent or “0”. So:

  • The bit can take the following values: 1 or 0

What is a byte?

This is an amount of information equal to 8 bits. Those. 1 byte is 8 consecutive "1" or "0" (bits). For example:

  • 00000001
  • 10101010
  • 11111010

Etc... So "1" and "0" can be interchanged in 256 different ways. And a byte can take on 2 8 = 256 different values.

The concept of “byte” was first used in 1956 by V. Buchholz. This word is an abbreviated phrase that means binary term. Buchholz was involved in the design of the first supercomputer; according to his scientific achievements, a byte was a bundle that simultaneously transmits up to six to eight bits in I/O devices. Later, the byte was expanded to 8 bits as part of the same project. In some computer models in the 1950s and 1960s, a byte was equal to 9 bits; in a Soviet computer it was equal to 7 bits.

The rest..bytes

  • One Kilobyte is equal to 2 10 Bytes = 1024 Bytes. (Denoted as "KB")
  • One Megabyte is equal to 2 20 Bytes = 1024 Kilobytes = 1,048,576 Bytes. (Denoted "MB").
  • One Gigabyte is equal to 2 30 Bytes = 1024 Megabytes = 1,048,576 Kilobytes = a lot of Bytes..(1024 * 1,048,576 on the calculator) (Denoted "MB").
  • One Terabyte is equal to 2 40 Bytes = 1024 Gigabytes = 1,048,576 Megabytes = ... (Denoted "Tb")

According to computer slang, gigabytes are also called “hectare” and “gig”. The prefix “Tera” for Terabyte is not entirely correct, since it means multiplication by the twelfth power. There are also such units of information as petabyte, exabyte, zettabyte and yottobyte, but they are very rarely used.

Confusion with kilo...

There is often confusion with the prefix “kilo” and its perception not as a multiplier of 1024 (nipple system), but as the multiplier 1000 familiar from school (SI system). In fact, everything is simple here:

  • Inscriptions "KB", "MB", "GB", etc. means using a multiplier of 1024
  • Inscriptions "kilobyte", "megabyte", etc. - using a multiplier of 1000, etc...

Theory is over!

Let us now answer frequently asked questions...

FAQ?!

How many Kilobits are in Megabits

There are two options when answering the question how many kilobits are in a megabit:

  • Correct- 1000 kilobits (SI system) (When using this option, it is better to write that there are 1000 decimal kilobits in one megabit)
  • And the second - 1024 kilobits (in the binary approach) (There is no concept of “Megabit” as “Mbyte”. Therefore, generally speaking, it is not correct to say that there are 1024 kilobits in a megabit)

Both options are quite popular, often used, which is why all sorts of inaccuracies arise. Computer designers, aka programmers, usually use the value 1000.

How many Kilobits in Megabyte

Most often this question is asked to calculate Internet speed, because... different providers indicate it differently. Some in Kilobits per second, some in Megabytes per second...

As already described, historically the unit of data transmission was the bit. The measurement speed was carried out in baud 1 baud = 1 bit/sec.

Now this concept is outdated and not used at all. Therefore, you can forget it, unless you need to pass the computer science dinosaur exam. So, to convert megabytes to kilobits, remember that:

  • 1 Byte = 8 Bits
  • 1 MegaByte = 1024 KiloBytes

We get:

  • 1 Megabyte= 1024 KiloByte = 1024 * 8 KiloBit or what is the same 2 13 = 8192 KiloBit

How many Kilobytes are in Megabytes?

There are 1024 Kilobytes in a Megabyte.

Read about the resolution of the dispute about 1000 Kilobytes in Megabytes in theory...

p.s.: There is an unfunny joke... What is the difference between an ordinary person and an ordinary programmer? An ordinary person thinks that there are 1000 bytes in a kilobyte, but a programmer thinks that there are 1024 grams in a kilogram... Haha. Shovel.

How many Kilobytes are in Gigabyte

So we convert Gigabytes to Kilobytes:

  • 1 Megabyte = 1024 Kilobytes
  • 1 Gigabyte = 1024 Megabytes

Therefore →

  • 1 Gigabyte = 1024x1024 Kilobytes = 1,048,576 Kilobytes.

What is greater: Kilobyte or Megabyte?

As already written above:

  • 1 Megabyte = 1024 Kilobytes

Therefore, one megabyte is much larger than one kilobyte.

In today's article we will deal with measuring information. All the pictures, sounds and videos that we see on our monitor screens are nothing more than numbers. And these numbers can be measured, and now you will learn how to convert megabits to megabytes and megabytes to gigabytes.

If it is important for you to know how many MB are in 1 GB or how many are in 1 MB KB, then this article is for you. Most often, such data is needed by programmers who estimate the volume occupied by their programs, but sometimes it does not interfere with ordinary users to estimate the size of downloaded or stored data.

In short, all you need to know is this:

1 byte = 8 bits

1 kilobyte = 1024 bytes

1 megabyte = 1024 kilobytes

1 gigabyte = 1024 megabytes

1 terabyte = 1024 gigabytes

Common abbreviations: kilobyte=kb, megabyte=mb, gigabyte=gb.

I recently received a question from a reader of mine: “Which is bigger, kb or mb?” I hope that now everyone knows the answer.

Units of measurement information in detail

In the information world, it is not the usual decimal measurement system that is used, but a binary one. This means that one digit can take values ​​not from 0 to 9, but from 0 to 1.

The simplest unit of measurement of information is 1 bit; it can be equal to 0 or 1. But this value is very small for the modern amount of data, so bits are rarely used. Bytes are most often used; 1 byte is equal to 8 bits and can take a value from 0 to 15 (hexadecimal number system). True, instead of numbers 10-15, letters from A to F are used.

But these volumes of data are small, so the familiar prefixes kilo- (thousand), mega-(million), giga-(billion) are used.

It is worth noting that in the information world, a kilobyte is not equal to 1000 bytes, but 1024. And if you want to know how many kilobytes are in a megabyte, then you will also get the number 1024. When asked how many megabytes are in a gigabyte, you will hear the same answer - 1024.

This is also determined by the peculiarity of the binary number system. If, when using tens, we obtain each new digit by multiplying by 10 (1, 10, 100, 1000, etc.), then in the binary system a new digit appears after multiplying by 2.

It looks like this:

2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024

A number consisting of 10 binary digits can only have 1024 values. This is more than 1000, but is closest to the usual prefix kilo-. Mega-, giga- and tera- are used in the same way.

Users of personal computers quite often encounter concepts such as kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte. First, it is necessary to say that kilobytes, megabytes and others are systems for measuring information on a personal computer. Perhaps, everyone, when installing this or that software, was faced with the fact that the program indicated the amount of space that it would occupy after installation. Each program or file takes up a certain amount of space on a personal computer. Beginner users may have some problems with measurements. It should be remembered that each concept implies a certain amount of space taken up. For example, 1,024 bytes are stored, a megabyte is 1,024 kilobytes, a megabyte is 1,048,576 bytes, and a terabyte is 1,000,000,000 kilobytes.

Each of the terms presented is indicated in abbreviated form (as can be seen above). This was adopted so that people could better understand the amount of memory required, and the number itself was written in a shortened form. Each of these names indicates the amount of memory required.

Differences between kilobytes and kilobits

Some personal computer users quite often confuse kilobytes with kilobits, megabytes with megabits, and so on. Perhaps, novice users of personal computers often have this question. It becomes especially acute when they start downloading something from the Internet and see that the speed is different from the declared one (according to users). Unfortunately, such users are deeply mistaken because they do not see the difference between the concepts.

Firstly, it is necessary to say that kilobytes/ and megabytes/ are designated differently. For example, kilobytes/kilobits are denoted by KB/s and Kb/s, respectively. There is a similar difference in other dimensions. Naturally, the differences do not end there. It is also necessary to understand that kilobytes are the volume of downloaded information, and kilobits are the speed itself.

In order to understand how quickly a particular amount of memory will be downloaded, it is necessary to carry out simple calculations. For example, the Internet provider declared a speed of 512 Kb/s. In order to calculate the amount of memory, you need to divide 512 by 8 (since there are 8 bits in one byte), and the result is 64 KB/s. Using such simple calculations, you can get a number indicating the volume.

I think you already know about bits and bytes, and about kilobytes and megabits too... but do you know everything about them? Let's check, please answer my question:

How do you think, how many bytes are there in one kilobyte?? Maybe 1024? Or is it still 1000?

The correct answer is in this IT lesson.

Now let's remember (or learn) about the basic units of data measurement.

Bit (bit) – a basic unit of measurement of information, can contain only one binary digit. A bit can only take two values: “0” or “1”.

Byte (byte) is also a unit of information amount, one byte is equal to eight bits (1 Byte = 8 bits).

These are fairly small amounts of data (comparable to measuring weight in “grams”), so...

Prefixes K, M, G, T (“kilo-”, “kibi-”, etc.)

...to measure large amounts of data, multiple prefixes are used (it's like " kilo gram"). The prefix we are familiar with is “ kilo-" means multiplying by 1000 (10 3), but in the binary number system they use two to the tenth power (2 10).

Copying prohibited

I have included everything listed in this lesson in abbreviated form in .

And we will find out How is data transfer speed measured? and how cunning providers are when they advertise their “huge” Internet connection speeds.

In order not to miss a new lesson, subscribe to the news using this link (and confirm your subscription in the email you receive).

Publications on the topic