A bit is a unit of information

A bit is a unit of measure for the amount of information. Claude Shannon suggested using the term bit in 1948 to designate a unit of information. Now we will discuss the history and content of this concept in more detail.

What is it

If we talk about how the word "bit" is translated, what kind of concept it is, and what its origins are, it should be said that the English word combination binary digit, from which the term arose, comes from English and means a binary number. In addition, there is a certain play of words. A bit is a piece or a particle.

If we take into account that one bit in a binary code can take only two values that exclude each other: yes / no, 1/0, we get one more definition. Thus, a bit is a number of information that makes it possible to uniquely answer the question posed by the system. In electronics, one binary bit corresponds to one binary trigger that has two stable states.

Varieties

So, we can conclude that one bit is a unit that is equal to a single bit in a binary number system. Two physical implementations of a single binary digit are possible. A single-phase bit assumes the use of one binary trigger output, with a zero level can mean both a "0" signal and a possible circuit malfunction.

In turn, a high level is responsible for the signal "1" and the complete serviceability of the circuit. A two-phase bit involves using both outputs of the binary trigger. In the case of a working circuit, one of the 2 levels is high, the second is low. It should be noted that a high level for both wires, as well as a low level for both wires indicate a circuit failure.

Data transfer

If we talk about computer technology, as well as data transmission networks, there usually values of zero and units are transmitted using different voltage levels or current. It should be noted that in the field of computer technology, especially when it comes to standards and documentation, the word "bit" is often used in the sense of "binary digit". It's interesting that a qubit analog (q-bit) became a bit analog for quantum computers .

Byte

The collection of data in the computer, consisting of 8 bits, is called a byte. It is 8 bits that are the basis for representing certain symbols, for example, the letter "A". Also this value allows to work with binary arithmetic. In other words, a byte is a bit command that is responsible for a particular detail in a particular file.

In this case, each of the bytes has a unique address in the memory of the personal computer. Bits with bytes have a numbering in the range 0-7 and are considered from right to left. For example, if you use the number of the bit 76543210, its value will be 01000001, and when the given information code is issued to the printer, the usual letter "A" will be generated.

We emphasize that the number of included bits on a single byte is odd. It should be noted that when a command accesses a byte, the personal computer checks it, and if the number of enabled bits is even, the system reports an error. As for the parity error, it can be caused by a hardware failure or a random occurrence, but this happens very rarely.

When data is processed in a personal computer, numerous electrical pulses pass through electronic circuits. Similar circuits consist of special conductors, as well as logic gates, so called electronic micro devices. In this case, the impulses that pass through the valves are able to "quench". Thanks to this, the data is processed. In conclusion, once again, recall that the bit is, first of all, a tiny unit of information, which we learned a little more about.