A bit, short for binary digit, represents the most basic unit of digital data and can hold one of two values, either 0 or 1. Initially, it was referred to as a “bigit.” The term ‘bit’ was likely coined by the scientist John Tukey in 1949.

To simplify the representation of larger data quantities, prefixes are applied, reflecting the binary system’s base two nature. Therefore, multiples of bits are expressed in powers of two:

• Kilo: 210210 or 1,024 bits
• Mega: 220220 or 1,048,576 bits
• Giga: 230230 or 1,073,741,824 bits
• Tera: 240240 or 1,099,511,627,776 bits