Difference between a bit and a Byte
Bytes are a larger measurement than bits. 1 byte = 8 bits. There are eight bits in one Byte.
On the same token:
- There are 8 Megabits in one MegaByte
- There are 8 Gigabits in one GigaByte
Bytes are written in uppercase ‘B’ and bits are in lowercase ‘b’. The best way to remember is that a capital B is bigger than a lowercase b – eight times bigger.
- File sizes are measured in ‘Bytes’ – e.g MegaBytes (MB), GigaBytes (GB)
- Broadband speed (data transfer rates) are measured and advertised in ‘bits’ – e.g Megabits per second (Mbps)
Unfortunately, people sometimes refer to megabits and megabytes as just “megs”! Now you know that if they’re talking about a file size then they referring to MegaBytes (MB) and if it’s about the speed they’re referring to Megabits (Mb)
Question:
If you have a broadband speed of 8Mbps (Megabits per second) how long will it take to download a file that is 8MB (MegaBytes)?
Answer:
It would take 8 seconds. Remember 8Mbits = 1 MByte.
Explanation:
Seconds and total data downloaded:
1st sec @ 8Mbits per second = 1Mbyte overall
2nd sec another 8Mbits = 2Mbytes overall
3rd sec another 8Mbits = 3Mbytes overall
4th sec another 8Mbits = 4Mbytes overall
5th secs another 8Mbits = 5Mbytes overall
6th secs another 8Mbits = 6Mbytes overall
7th secs another 8Mbits = 7Mbytes overall
8th secs another 8Mbits = 8Mbytes overall
Done. 8MB file downloaded in 8 Seconds on an 8Mbits per second (Mbps) download speed.
Further reading:
- www.computersciencedegreehub.com/faq/what-is-the-difference-between-a-bit-and-a-byte/
- www.studytonight.com/post/understanding-what-are-bits-and-bytes-and-the-difference-between-them