Question:
Is memory (bits and bytes) an SI unit?
Equinox
2009-01-03 21:57:21 UTC
And if so, why hasn't it been included in the Système International d'Unités's definitions as a base?

Can it really be deduced by realisation? btw don't just consider computer memory but also biological brain memory.

I asked this in my stats class (graduate school, so fairly high) and my professor just said it was an interesting point and he didn't know. Plus my friends waiting for me just laughed at me for being such a nerd =( ... they'll come crawling back on revision day!
Four answers:
Yokki
2009-01-03 22:56:13 UTC
No, sorry, I don't believe that "bits" or "bytes" are SI units. The SI unit system was set up to measure fundamental physical quantities, and bits and bytes are artificial constructs, not measurable physical dimensional entities.



Just because we use metric-like prefixes (eg. kilo, mega, etc), with them doesn't make them SI units... does calling 1 million dollars a "mega-buck" make the dollar an SI unit?



Later edit...



Sorry to upset anyone, but if we're quoting Wikipedia...



The article on SI units says that there are SEVEN basic SI units:

metre m length

kilogram kg mass

second s time

ampere A electric current

kelvin K thermodynamic temperature

candela cd luminous intensity

mole mol amount of substance



In addition, there are a number of non-SI units accepted for use with SI:

minute min time (multiple unit) 1 min = 60 s

hour h time (multiple unit) 1 h = 60 min = 3600 s

day d time (multiple unit) 1 d = 24 h = 1440 min = 86400 s

degree of arc ° angle (non unitary unit) 1° = (π/180) rad

minute of arc ′ angle (non unitary unit) 1′ = (1/60)° = (π/10800) rad

second of arc ″ angle (non unitary unit) 1″ = (1/60)′ = (1/3600)° = (π/648000) rad

square degree deg² or sq.deg. solid angle 1 deg² = (π/180) sr.

hectare ha area (simple decimal multiple unit) 1 ha = 100 a = 10000 m²

litre l or L volume (simple decimal multiple unit) 1 dm3 = 0.001 m3

tonne t mass (simple decimal multiple unit) 1 t = 103 kg = 1 Mg





Then there are even more which are mentioned which are rare or discouraged. None of them is the "bit".



I stand by my comment. The use of a prefix is just that...it doesn't give the subject of the prefix any special SI status.
anonymous
2009-01-04 10:01:39 UTC
I also am of the opinion that bits are not included in the SI system of definitions

In computer engineering a bit has no exact voltage definition. A bit representing logic states 1 and 0 may be

Greater than 2.5 v less than 0.7v

Less than -7 V greater than +7v

This not a typo 1 may be defined as a negative value.



SI units are concerned with consistancy in the underlying parameters of science

Joule = the unit of energy or work

Joule is a compound definition which may be resolved into other SI units

metre = unit of length

kilogram = unit of mass etc etc etc



The most despicable sh*ts are those who laugh at others for asking a question or who sneer at others for answering incorrectly.
QUAHOG
2009-01-04 06:11:18 UTC
They are SI units. We say kilobits and gigabytes but never mega miles or kilo inches.



In other words SI prefixes are used to modify them so they are SI units, QED



Claude E. Shannon first used the word bit in his 1948 paper A Mathematical Theory of Communication. He attributed its origin to John W. Tukey, who had written a Bell Labs memo on 9 January 1947 in which he contracted "binary digit" to simply "bit". Interestingly, Vannevar Bush had written in 1936 of "bits of information" that could be stored on the punch cards used in the mechanical computers of that time.



It is important to differentiate between the use of "bit" in referring to a discrete storage unit and the use of "bit" in referring to a statistical unit of information. The bit, as a discrete storage unit, can by definition store only 0 or 1. A statistical bit is the amount of information that, on average, can be stored in a discrete bit. It is thus the amount of information carried by a choice between two equally likely outcomes.





Edit- To answer Yokki's retort which is no answer except a reply to mine. We choose to use mega bucks because of a cultural phenomena of using mega as a prefix in just about everything nowadays. It's slang or commoner's language. Think beyond being a common person.





Check out the SI prefix table for bits on Wiki at the source below and change your mind. I copied it here but the paste isn't good



Multiples of bits

SI prefixesBinary prefixes

Name

(Symbol)Standard

SIBinary

usageName

(Symbol)Value

kilobit (kbit)103210kibibit (Kibit)210

megabit (Mbit)106220mebibit (Mibit)220

gigabit (Gbit)109230gibibit (Gibit)230

terabit (Tbit)1012240tebibit (Tibit)240

petabit (Pbit)1015250pebibit (Pibit)250

exabit (Ebit)1018260exbibit (Eibit)260

zettabit (Zbit)1021270zebibit (Zibit)270

yottabit (Ybit)1024280yobibit (Yibit)280
anonymous
2009-01-04 11:15:41 UTC
uummmmmm - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myEVBOjagKE&feature=related



this should help


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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