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Ever wondered what they really are - bits, bytes and binary?
Computers process data differently from human beings.
But have you ever wondered how these massive amounts of data are actually stored?
Welcome to computers are their core: bits.
The single most granular piece of information a computer can"understand"and process is abit.
But what is a bit?
How can we quantify a bit?
It is actually very simple.
If you magnetize the piece of metal, we shall call this statemagnetizedor1.
This is, in essence, what a bit is: a magnetized or demagnetized piece of metal.
Let’s take eight bits instead and see what we can do with that.
Byte and Bytes!
Shutterstock/Pavel Ignatov
When we combine eight bits together, we form a byte.
A byte is a human concept, not one which a computer can understand at it cores.
Very early computer developers decided to create bytes out of 8 bits.
There are exactly256possible combinations (0 to 255).
50 Mbps is 6,250,000 bytes per second which in turn is an astonishing 50,000,000 bits per second.
In this case, the data is not stored on magnetized pieces of metal.
The next question that may come to mind is - where are these bits written to?
Any form of storage in a computing system.
caches inside a CPU (Central Processing Unit).
So what are some of the top speeds that computers can actually magnetize and demagnetize bits?
Incredible, but real.
Will all these different uses of binary it takes a little time to get used to the jargon.
We finally explored binary and the many ways in which the word binary can be used.
