A bit (short for
binary digit) is the smallest unit of
data in a computer. A bit has a single
binary value, either 0 or 1. Although computers usually provide
instructions that can test and manipulate bits, they generally are designed to store data and execute instructions in bit multiples
called
bytes. In most computer systems, there are eight bits in a byte. The value of a bit is usually stored as either above or below a designated level of electrical charge in a single capacitor within a memory device.
Half a byte (four bits) is called a nibble. In some systems, the term octet is used for an eight-bit unit instead of byte. In many systems, four eight-bit bytes or octets form a 32-bit word. In such systems, instruction lengths are sometimes expressed as full-word (32 bits in length) or half-word (16 bits in length).
In telecommunication, the bit rate is the number of bits that are transmitted in a given time period, usually a second.
This was last updated in August 2000
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