What is Bit: Definition and 398 Discussions

The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a contraction of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented as either "1"or"0", but other representations such as true/false, yes/no, +/−, or on/off are commonly used.
The correspondence between these values and the physical states of the underlying storage or device is a matter of convention, and different assignments may be used even within the same device or program. It may be physically implemented with a two-state device.
The symbol for the binary digit is either "bit" per recommendation by the IEC 80000-13:2008 standard, or the lowercase character "b", as recommended by the IEEE 1541-2002 standard.
A contiguous group of binary digits is commonly called a bit string, a bit vector, or a single-dimensional (or multi-dimensional) bit array.
A group of eight binary digits is called one byte, but historically the size of the byte is not strictly defined. Frequently, half, full, double and quadruple words consist of a number of bytes which is a low power of two.
In information theory, one bit is the information entropy of a binary random variable that is 0 or 1 with equal probability, or the information that is gained when the value of such a variable becomes known. As a unit of information, the bit is also known as a shannon, named after Claude E. Shannon.

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  1. ~christina~

    Insulation=> simple problem just confused a bit.

    Homework Statement A house has well insulated walls. It contains a vol of 100m^3 of air at 300K a) calculate the E required to increase the T of the diatomic gas by 1.00C b) If this E could be used to lift an object of mass m through a height of 2.00m what is the mass of m? Homework...
  2. J

    Easy problem that I'm a bit confused about.

    Homework Statement You have Joe and John playing catch in space. Joe throws the ball to John with a velocity of 7.5 m/s. Given Variables Joe's mass is 60.9 kg John's mass is 79.8kg Ball's mass is 6.5kg Find: A) Joe's velocity after he throws the ball. B) John's velocity after he...
  3. H

    What Career Opportunities Exist in Physics and How Can I Prepare for Them?

    I graduated from high school about a year ago, during which time i had taken some college classes and had managed to get my A+ certification, along with 2 lvls of cisco certification. after that i got a decent job, but decided the field was not for me. so here i am now, trying to presue my child...
  4. B

    Using a Micro PIC for Keypad Output with 16 Digits & 4 Bit Output

    What I need is that when a certain key (on a keypad) is pressed it would output a corresponding binary number. I have completed this with an HC11 in assembly language. My professor says that the HC11 is over kill and that a micro pic would do this for little money. I am new to micro pics and...
  5. P

    Engineering ECE - logic circuit for a 4 bit input which counts 1s in input

    Homework Statement Using basic gates and/or building blocks, design a logic circuit that takes in a 4 bit input and will compute the number of 1s in the input. Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I have no idea where to start can anyone help please.
  6. marcus

    Beyond Big Bang gets a bit more visible

    this 600-page book is now available for pre-order at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/3540714227/?tag=pfamazon01-20 It's not my perfect cup of tea, but I am glad it is coming out because it helps give substance to the research area of Quantum Cosmology and make the field more visible. The...
  7. quasar987

    Little bit of convex analysis on a Hilbert space

    [SOLVED] Little bit of convex analysis on a Hilbert space Homework Statement Let H be a Hilbert space over R and f:H-->R a function that is bounded below, convex and lower semi continuous (i.e., f(x) \leq \liminf_{y\rightarrow x}f(y) for all x in H). (a) For all x in H and lambda>0, show that...
  8. F

    Work and Electrostatics - a bit of Clarification, please

    Work and Electrostatics - Help! Homework Statement I need to place equal and oppositve charges on a piano and at the top of a 5.0 meter ramp in order to move a 1000 kg box up a 30 degree frictionless ramp. The box has a charge of +Q and the top has a -Q. A) What magnitude charges do I...
  9. Moonbear

    What is the traditional New Year's Eve meal in Peru?

    I won't be around tomorrow night to enjoy the annual near-beer and Nyquil New Year's Eve countdown (I actually have real life friends to spend the evening with this year :biggrin:), so I thought I'd wish everyone a Happy New Year a bit early, and at least get the party started. Hopefully by...
  10. K

    Finding f(x) Given f''(x) and f'(x)

    Homework Statement f''(x) = SQRT(x) - 2 cos(x) What is f(x)? (all possible solutions) Homework Equations - The Attempt at a Solution Well here is what i got: f'(x) = (2/3)x^(3/2) - 2 sin(x) + C f(x) = (2/3)(2/5)x^(5/2) + 2 cos(x) + C + D thus final answer is: f(x) = (4/15)x^(5/2) + 2...
  11. A

    Stretching things out a bit, I

    [SOLVED] Stretching things out a bit, I Can anyone help me with this problem? You have a spring with force constant 450 N/m. How much work do you do in (a) stretching the spring from its relaxed position to an extension of 10 cm. (b) stretching it an additional 10 cm. (c) allowing it to...
  12. B

    How many clock pulses are needed for an 8 bit ADC's mid-signed range?

    Missed some class notes due to being sick. Anyway have a tutorial question I need some help with as I missed out on the subject. For an 8 bit ADC, how many clock pulses are required for an exact mid-signed range. I think 4, appreciate if someone can advise. TIA
  13. C

    Shifting a double-wide variable - bit twiddling

    Shifting a double-wide variable -- bit twiddling I have a number too long to fit into the largest variable size (unsigned long long, 64 bits in this case) so I'm storing it in two variables, left and right. I want to shift it -- and to do it quickly, as I'll do this more than 1e12 times. The...
  14. T

    Is there a DIN-unit or similar converter for rs232 to Analog Voltage?

    Does anyone know of a DIN-unit or something similar that works as a rs232toAnalogVoltage-converter thanks! /tj
  15. N

    A bit confused about BJT charge flow

    In this picture, as well as countless others: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NPN_BJT_Basic_Operation_%28Active%29.svg we have electrons flowing from emitter to base, and 'holes' from base to emitter. Why the distinction? When an electron flows from emitter to base, is it not the...
  16. E

    A. The dynamic range of an 8 bit DAC is approximately 48 dB.

    Here is my problem: There is a 4 bit ADC with an input range of -5 to +5 Volts. I would like someone to check my answers. Q. How many states does the ADC have? A. The ADC has 2^4 = 16 states. Q. What voltage does each step represent? A. range = 10 V no. of steps = 16-1 = 15...
  17. rohanprabhu

    Is a Website a Reliable Source for Random Bits?

    Just though you would find this interesting: http://random.irb.hr/index.php
  18. C

    Calculating DC Offset for 19 High Bits Followed by Low Bit

    If I have a string of 19 continuous bits 'high' followed by a bit 'low', how do I calculate the DC Offset if the pattern is repeated? Is it just [(19 - 1)*(the amplitude)]/(20)? Thanks for the help. Chris
  19. M

    Dielectric constant, metals, frequency a bit confused

    A metal is not a good dielectric. A vacuum is a decent dielectric. There are much better dielectrics than a vacuum. A high dielectric constant, k, means the material exhibits good dielectric behaviour. A vacuum has k = 1, better dielectrics have k > 1. What is the dielectric constant of...
  20. T

    What distribution should I use for generating random client counts?

    Homework Statement The bank is opened from 9:00 to 17:00. From 9:00 to 10:30 the average client count who come into bank is 32/hour, from 10:30 to 15:30 it is 26/hour and from 15:30 to 17:00 it is 50 clients per hour. I have to test the hypothesis that the average count of clients who...
  21. T

    Magnetism (Charge, E-field, potential difference, mass) - A bit confused

    Homework Statement Image: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/talimtails/PP23.jpg A particle with unknown mass and charge moves with a constant speed v = 1.9 x 10^6 m/s as it passes undeflected through a pair of parallel plates, as shown above. The plates are separated by a distance d...
  22. B

    Need help designing a Arithmetic Bit Slice Unit

    Need help designing a Arithmetic Bit Slice Unit... Homework Statement I need to design a Arithmetic Bit Slice unit built upon a full adder that performs the following operations on two bit A and B and carry in Cin. A + B A-B A+1 A-1 B+1 B-1 B A 0...
  23. H

    Calculating Bit Strings of Length 7 & 10

    hello can some one explain this in details thank u a- How many bit strings of length seven either begin with two 0’s or end with three 1’s? ] b- How many bit strings of length 10 contain either five consecutive 0’s or five consecutive
  24. K

    A bit introduction to foliation in GR and some question.

    If we have Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian so: \mathcal L = (-g)^{1/2}R for R Ricci scalar (¿?) then my question perhaps mentioned before is if we can split the metric into: g_{ab}= Ndt^{2}+g_{ij} dx^{i} dx^{j} N=N(t) 'lapse function' then i would like to know if somehow you can split...
  25. W

    What if your GPA is a bit lower?

    Just wondering what if your GPA is lower by .1 then the minimun required for a given university. My cousin has 2.9 from a community college and is hesitating to sent out a transer application to a school that has minimum of 3.0 Appreciate any info,
  26. R

    My teeth bit down hard on an iron bar

    The hard iron bar called irony, that is. The irony of toothaches. My sadistic dentist informs me, my wisdom teeth are coming in all wrong and will necessarily need amputation. Poor hypocrite me, I had declared I'd sooner die naturally than go under the knife; now I've given in, to schedule the...
  27. R

    How Can You Efficiently Enumerate Combinations of Bits in Programming?

    Let's say I have 10 items, and I want to examine every combination of 5 items. Obviously, there are http://www.google.com/search?q=10+choose+5" possible combinations. But I want to actually enumerate them and iterate through them as efficiently as I can in a computer program. I'm wondering...
  28. R

    How Does a 408mm Cassegrain Telescope's CCD Capture Light Spectrum?

    hey guys anyone got any ideas on this: f/19 cassegrain focus of a 408mm telescope. ccd is 12.3mm long, each pixel is a square of side 24 x 10E-6 m, grating used has 1200lines/mm 1. = the spectrum is imaged on a ccd with a zoo lens such that the dispersion is 3.3nm/mm. what is the range of...
  29. S

    Looking for a bit of help with my homework

    hi, can someone advise me this question attached. thanks!
  30. M

    A Little Bit of Guidance on this RLC Circuit (Please )

    I've been working on this problem to review (see the attachments), and my circuit analysis skills are quite rusty. I've determined that the circuit should be underdamped, and it will have a step response. Based on this, I'm using the equation V0(t)=Vf+B1e^(αt)cos(ωdt)+B2e^(ω0t)sin(ωdt). As you...
  31. R

    Lab Memo: Flip-Flop Analysis - 4 bit counter

    Hi, I have a four-bit binary counter utilizing two 74LS76 and two 74LS74 integrated circuits. I've attached a picture. I have to write a lab report, and this is what I have so far: If we were to label each flip-flop from 1 to 4 (left to right) in Figure 3B, Appendix B, each successive...
  32. K

    I am a little bit confused about graphing

    so if the plot of x(t) is given, then I get confused about how to graph x(4-t/2), I know how to graph x(t+4), x(t/2) and x(-2) .. but when they are all put together, I get very confused about the order ... any help?
  33. R

    Here's a bit of a challenge for all you math whizzes

    So my dad gave me this problem because he likes to bother me: Explain why this is funny: click on it to see a big picture since it won't let me do it this way :/ Does anyone get the joke?
  34. B

    Need a bit of help with Art(:sad

    Need a bit of help with Art(:sad:) (Okay, if this isn't in the right location, feel free to move it and inform me.) I'm doing a 1-point perspective drawing on a 18x12 inch piece of paper. My vanishing point is directly at (9,6) and my back wall is 1.5 inches left and right, and 1 point...
  35. R

    Need a bit of homework help about % mass of elements

    Calculate the percentage by mass of the elements shown in the following compounds A) Br in MgBr2 b) O in Ca(NO3)2 c) N in NH4NO3 any help is appreichated thanks regards
  36. I

    C/C++ Opening a bit map in Visual C++

    Could someone recommend a way to open and edit a bitmap file in Visual C++?
  37. T

    A Bit of Byte Humor: I/O, I/O, It's off to Disk I Go!

    Hear I go *clears throat* "I/O, I/O, It's off to disk I go, to read or write a bit or byte. I/O, I/O, I/O" Came across that one today :smile:
  38. M

    555 Timers, Button Presses and a little bit more

    I am trying to set up some 555 timers to either: 1 - open a valve for a short period of time and then close it 2 - activate some sort of switch that will push a button to open the valve it will be much more simple for me if I could find something that will push a button when triggered by a...
  39. L

    A bit of a semantic question but still

    Ok here goes: I had a disagreement with someone over what the word law (in physics ofcourse) stands for. Now I realize that it can refer to a prescriptive law (such as human laws passed down by an authority for example) and descriptive law (a law that describes some kind of regularity in nature...
  40. B

    Having a bit of trouble figuring something out about a doorbell

    The question in the textbook is something like: Why doesn't the armature in a doorbell vibrate back and forth repeatedly like in a buzzer? I'm thinking it's related to the fact that the book says that in a buzzer, there's no gong/chimes, etc. Since the doorbell has chimes, is that why it...
  41. H

    Need a little bit of help on trains and buses

    It may be that I'll leave New York alone and travel far far to other states. However I've never done such a thing. I mean, I always travel with my parents, and never by train or bus (except within NYC). So, do you know any websites out there, that let me play a tiny bit, and find the cheapest...
  42. U

    E=MC^2: Exploring the Connection Between Matter and Energy

    I have read a bit on E=MC^2, and would I be correct in saying that matter and energy are essentially the same thing? I was wondering about this because I asked my Physics teacher and she said that matter and energy are two separate entities. but can't matter be converted into energy? It would...
  43. S

    Help Needed: Linear Interpolation & Numerical Integration Basics

    Could someone please give me a basic idea on the following : a) Use of linear interpolation . the Newton Raphson method (a geometrical approach) b) numerical integration . the trapezium rule. I need to know just the basics for an exam so please be descriptive in your post. Thanks a...
  44. J

    Fixing a Hartke A35 Bass Amp: 220V Power Source Issue

    Okay, before I say anything else, the power source here is 220V. Right. So today I was changing the fuse on my Hartke A35 bass amp. I accidentally used a 5A fuse instead of the 1A one. now it won't work. Am I screwed?
  45. TheStatutoryApe

    Just That Bit of Plastic Please

    At my work the students are supposed to keep their student IDs on them at all times and show them to whom ever is at the entrance when they come through so we know that they are students. Now my boss doesn't seem to really care whether or not we know they are students, he wants us checking...
  46. S

    Is it worth waiting for the 65nm and Dual Core 64-bit processor for your PC?

    If it is not urgent to upgrade your PC, you should wait for the 65nm and Dual Core 64-bit processor based PC/Notebook, it is a great improvement to cope with Windows Vista.:bugeye:
  47. K

    Bit of a problem with polar coordinates.

    Bit of a problem with polar coordinates. (Only trig knowledge needed.) Right. So, in this problem, I'm given the polar coordinate point (rad2, 4.39) -- "rad2" being, naturally, short for radical 2. I'm to find the rectangular coordinates of the point, using the formulas: x = r cos Theta...
  48. V

    Astronomy Basics: Solving Problems with Earth & Mars

    yes, i am defintely not a genius at this stuff... i am having some problems figuring these two problems out: Earth is 1.5x10^11 m from the Sun and has a period of 365.2 days. Mars is an average of 2.28x10^11 km from the sun. what is the orbital period of Mars in Earth years? i am not...
  49. K

    MATLAB A bit of MATLAB, a bit of linear algebra

    I'm taking a course on numerical methods using MATLAB, and right now we're discussing linear systems. This is the question I was given. P(x) = (3/2)x^2 - 1/2 Q(x) = (5/2)x^3 - (3/2)x Compute vectors P and Q using the following MATLAB commands. X = -1:1/500:1; N = length(X); P =...
  50. E

    News Is the American Perception of the World a Dangerous Game?

    Americans treat the rest of the world as a game of Risk. Check out clip (klipp) 7 here: http://www.kanal5.se/templates/page.aspx?id=11876 Funny...but also a bit scary?
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