Bits,+Bytes,+Kilobytes+,+Megabytes,+Gigabytes

Bits, Bytes, Kilobytes, Megabytes, Gigabytes Explanation of in Plain English

To comprehend computer language you have to realize and accept that computers do not speak English, French , or any other spoken lahguage.

They do not string together the letters of an alphabet to make words.

Neither do they use our 10 decimal numbers to make endless number combinations.

What computers use is a binary system of numbers to represent every entry which you type into your computer

This is how it is stored in the computer memory. Binary numbers.

Ok what are these binary numbers?, I here you ask

We are accustomed to numeric values ranging from 0 through to 9 i.e. decimal system, in our everyday life we combine these 10 different numbers to arrive at whatever value is relevant to the situation.

However, the binary system has only two numbers....1 and 0.

Why is this you may query?

The reason is simply that it is an electrical system, and with electricity, you only have a Positive impulse and a Negative impulse.

Therefore when information is stored in memory, it can only record 1's and 0's, ( Positives or Negatives )

Consequently every byte you type is a combination of eight 1's and 0's.

This is a binary example of the letter “ A “ The binary number for the capital letter A is 01000001 As opposed to an “ Asterisk “ The asterisk symbol “ * “ is stored as a binary number of 00101010

Every letter, number, space or symbol you type is represented by a combination of eight 1's and 0's, as per the above examples.

Note: This binary system is standard all over the world for anyone who inputs information on the internet, or into a computer.

There are 256 different combinations you can make with 8 zeros and ones,

Which is more than adequate to cover the alphabet, and other characters similar to the Question mark ( ? ) and the asterisk ( * )

Here is the construction order of binary numbers:

1 bit = a single digit, either 1 or 0

8 bits = 1 byte, a combination of 1's and 0's

1024 Bytes = 1 KB (kilobyte)

1024 Kilobytes = 1 MB (megabyte)

1024 Megabytes = 1 GB (gigabyte)

You have a total of 1024 bytes before you arrive at the value of one KiloByte.

You have over 1 Million bytes (1024 X 1024) before you arrive at the value of one MegaByte.

You have over 1 Billion bytes (1024 X 1024 X 1024) before you arrive at the value of one GigaByte.

Now this raises the question why an odd number of 1024.?

The reason is that the binary code system has only 2 numbers, the powers of 2 plays an important role in the structure of binary.

Numbers always have to be 2 to the power of ???. ( Whatever )

If you take 2 to the 10th power you get a value of 1024.

Ok ! you did not do all that well with Maths, so below is an indication of Powers to.

2 is the (the 1st power) 2 X 2 = 4 (the 2nd power) i.e. [ 2 to the power of 2 ] 2 X 4 = 8 (the 3rd power) 2 X 8 = 16 (the 4th power) 2 X 16 = 32 (the 5th power) 2 X 32 = 64 (the 6th power) 2 X 64 = 128 (the 7th power) 2 X 128 = 256 (the 8th power) 2 X 256 = 512 (the 9th power) 2 X 512 = 1024 (the 10th power)

That brings you to the value of :- 1 KB.( KiloByte )

Every thing which you do add bytes to your pages.

En passant, this page has not even used 5 KB of space.

Therefore, it would need more than 200 pages similar to this entry to arrive at the figure of one MegaByte.

I hope, and trust this explanation has helped you understand this confusing jargon of the computer world.

There are others called kibobytes 