Bits are the smallest units capable of storing information as a binary 0 or 1. Bytes consist of 8 bits and are the standard unit for measuring computer storage capacity. Larger units like kilobytes and megabytes that are powers of 1,024 bytes are used to measure greater storage amounts needed for files like music, photos and documents up through exabytes that can store massive scientific databases.

2. WITHIN EVERY COMPUTER, MEMORY PLAYS A
CRUCIAL ROLE IN ENABLING PROGRAMS TO
FUNCTION AND INFORMATION TO BE
STORED.
WHETHER STORING PERSONAL DOCUMENTS
OR POWERING GLOBAL DATA CENTERS,
UNDERSTANDING HOW INFORMATION IS
QUANTIFIED AND HOUSED UNLOCKS
COUNTLESS POSSIBILITIES.
THE FUNDAMENTALS START WITH BUILDING
BLOCKS: BITS AND BYTES.

3. WHAT IS A BIT?
THE SMALLEST UNITS CAPABLE OF
STORING INFORMATION. EACH BIT
OPERATES AS A BINARY SWITCH,
EFFECTIVELY STORING A SINGLE VALUE
OF EITHER 0 OR 1.

4. NIBBLE
A NIBBLE IS A
GROUP OF 4 BITS
BYTE
THE BYTE,
CONSISTING OF 8
BITS

5. KILOBYTE (KB)
KILOBYTE (KB) IN COMPUTER TERMS IS 1,024 BYTES,
NOT 1,000 AS WITH KILO IN BASE-10. THIS MIGHT
SEEM CONFUSING, BUT IT'S BECAUSE 1,024 IS 210
ALIGNING WITH THE BINARY WORLD OF BYTES (8
BITS EACH).

6. EXAMPLE:

7. MEGABYTE (MB)
A MEGABYTE ENCOMPASSES 1,024 KILOBYTES,
PROVIDING AMPLE SPACE FOR A FEW MINUTES OF
MUSIC, A HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAPH OR A
STANDARD WORD DOCUMENT. IT'S A COMMON UNIT
FOR STORING MUSIC FILES, IMAGES AND SMALL
SOFTWARE PROGRAMS.

8. GIGABYTE (GB)
A GIGABYTE PACKS 1,024 MEGABYTES -- ENOUGH
FOR A FULL-LENGTH MOVIE, HUNDREDS OF HIGH-
RESOLUTION PHOTOS OR A SUBSTANTIAL
COLLECTION OF DOCUMENTS. IT'S THE STANDARD
UNIT FOR STORING LARGE FILES, SOFTWARE
PROGRAMS AND OPERATING SYSTEMS.

9. TERABYTE (TB)
A TERABYTE IS A COLLECTION OF 1,024 GIGABYTES. A
TERABYTE CAN HOUSE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF
PHOTOS, THOUSANDS OF SONGS OR DOZENS OF HIGH-
DEFINITION MOVIES. IT'S COMMONLY USED FOR
EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES, CLOUD STORAGE AND
ENTERPRISE-LEVEL DATA STORAGE.

10. PETABYTE (PB)
A PETABYTE, COMPRISING 1,024 TERABYTES, ENTERS
THE REALM OF BIG DATA, CAPABLE OF STORING
ENTIRE LIBRARIES OF BOOKS, MASSIVE SCIENTIFIC
DATABASES OR YEARS OF HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO
FOOTAGE. IT'S TYPICALLY FOUND IN LARGE-SCALE
DATA CENTERS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS.

11. EXABYTE (EB)
AN EXABYTE, EQUIVALENT TO 1,024 PETABYTES, ENTERS
THE REALM OF UNIMAGINABLE PROPORTIONS, IT IS
RESERVED FOR THE MOST IMMENSE DATA COLLECTIONS
AND SCIENTIFIC SIMULATIONS.

12. ZETTABYTE (ZB)
A ZETTABYTE, A STAGGERING 1,024 EXABYTES.

13. YOTTAYTE (YB)
1,024 ZETTABYTES, ITS POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS
REMAIN THEORETICAL, ENCOMPASSING THE DATA
STORAGE NEEDS OF FAR-FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES.
BRONTOBYTE
1,024 YOTTABYTES IN A BRONTOBYTE.
GEOPBYTE (GB)
1,024 BRONTOBYTES. NO ONE EVER KNOWS WHY
THIS TERM WAS CREATED. IT IS HIGHLY DOUBTFUL
THAT ANYONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE A
GEOPBYTE HARD DRIVE.