What is bit?

A bit is the smallest unit of digital information, representing a value of either 0 or 1. It is used to express network bandwidth, signal data rates, and low-level binary data in computing and telecommunications.

Real-world uses

Bits are the fundamental unit of data transmission. Network speeds (Wi-Fi, fibre broadband, mobile data) are measured in bits per second (bps and its multiples). Colour depth in digital displays is expressed in bits per channel (8-bit colour = 256 shades per channel). Audio resolution is described in bits (16-bit CD, 24-bit studio audio).

History

The term "bit" (contraction of "binary digit") was coined by mathematician John Tukey in 1947. Claude Shannon formalised the concept in his landmark 1948 paper "A Mathematical Theory of Communication," establishing information theory and defining the bit as the fundamental unit of information.

Common mistakes

Confusing bits with bytes — 8 bits = 1 byte. A "100 Mbps" internet connection transfers 100 megabits, or 12.5 megabytes, per second. Capitalisation matters: "b" = bit, "B" = byte, so "Mb" is not the same as "MB".

What is gibibyte (binary)?

A gibibyte is a binary data unit equal to 1,024 mebibytes, approximately 1.074 gigabytes. It is used by operating systems and technical documentation to express exact binary storage capacities.

Real-world uses

Gibibytes are used in operating systems, virtual machines, and technical contexts where binary accuracy is needed. macOS (since Catalina), Linux, and Windows all report file sizes and disk capacities in GiB in their file explorers. Virtual machine disk images, RAM allocations, and container storage limits are often specified in GiB.

History

The gibibyte was defined by the IEC in 1998. Prior to this, "gigabyte" was used inconsistently for both 10^9 and 2^30 bytes. The IEC standard clarified terminology, though marketing materials continue to use "GB" in the decimal sense, perpetuating consumer confusion.

Common mistakes

Confusing GiB (gibibyte, 1,073,741,824 bytes) with GB (gigabyte, 1,000,000,000 bytes). The difference is approximately 7.4%. A "1 TB" hard drive contains 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, which the OS displays as approximately 931 GiB, causing widespread confusion about "missing" storage.

When is this conversion used?

Operating systems and storage manufacturers use different base systems (binary vs decimal), which is why a '1 TB' drive shows less than 1 TB in your file manager. Understanding this conversion prevents confusion about available storage.

Worked examples

1 bit = 1.164153e-10 gibibyte (binary)

1 gibibyte (binary) = 1.073742e+09 byte

How to convert bit to gibibyte (binary)

To convert bit to gibibyte (binary), multiply the value by 1.164153e-10.

To convert gibibyte (binary) back to bit, multiply by 8.589935e+09.

Measurement standards

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC 80000-13) defines binary prefixes: 1 KiB = 1,024 bytes, 1 MiB = 1,048,576 bytes. The SI decimal prefixes (kB = 1,000 bytes, MB = 1,000,000 bytes) apply to data units as they do to all SI quantities.

Did you know?

By 2025, the global datasphere is estimated to reach 181 zettabytes — roughly 181 trillion gigabytes. If stored on standard Blu-ray discs, the stack would reach from Earth to Mars and back over 20 times.

Quick reference: bit to gibibyte (binary)

bit	gibibyte (binary)
0.1	1.164153e-11
0.5	5.820766e-11
1	1.164153e-10
2	2.328306e-10
5	5.820766e-10
10	1.164153e-09
25	2.910383e-09
50	5.820766e-09
100	1.164153e-08
250	2.910383e-08
500	5.820766e-08
1,000	1.164153e-07

Common values

	bit	gibibyte (binary)
A text email	40,000 bit	0.00000466 gibibyte (binary)
An MP3 song (4 min)	32,000,000 bit	0.00372529 gibibyte (binary)
A smartphone photo	40,000,000 bit	0.00465661 gibibyte (binary)
An HD movie	4.000000e+10 bit	4.65661287 gibibyte (binary)
A full hard drive	8.000000e+12 bit	931.32257462 gibibyte (binary)

Available Data units

More bit conversions

Assumption: both decimal (kB, MB, GB, TB) and binary (KiB, MiB, GiB, TiB) units are included.