One million bytes in decimal notation (base 10) or 1,048,576 bytes in binary notation (base 2) make up one megabyte, which is a unit of data capacity. Base-2 representations for an amount are 220 or 10242 bytes, whereas base-10 representations are 106 or 10002 bytes. Mega is derived from the Greek word megas, meaning big or enormous. Mega is the term for one million or a close approximation in computing.
In most computer designs, the smallest unit of addressable memory is the byte, which is multiplied by a megabyte. Typically, a byte consists of eight binary digits, or bits. The de facto standard for byte length in today’s world is eight bits, while actual hardware may use a different number.
An octet is also eight bits, hence a standard byte can also be referred to as an octet. Based on standard bytes, a megabyte is equivalent to 8,388,608 in binary notation or 8,000,000 bits in decimal notation.
One of the multipliers used to express bigger numbers of bytes is the megabyte. A kilobyte (KB), for instance, is equivalent to 1,024 bytes (binary) or 1,000 bytes (decimal). Therefore, 1,000 KB (decimal) or 1,024 KB (binary) is equivalent to one megabyte. Megabytes are not the only byte multipliers available; gigabyte (GB), terabyte (TB), and petabyte (PB) are just a few examples.
A gigabyte can alternatively be written as 1,000 MB or 1,024 MB. A gigabyte is equivalent to 10003 bytes in binary or 10243 bytes in decimal.
- A terabyte can be represented as 10004 bytes in binary or 10244 bytes in decimal, or as 1,000,000 MB and 1,048,576 MB, respectively.
- 10005 bytes (decimal) or 10245 bytes (binary), which are alternatively stated as 1,000,000,000 MB and 1,073,741,824 MB, respectively, are the equivalent of a petabyte.
The megabyte was once widely used in the industry as a unit of measurement for memory and storage data capacity. Megabytes are currently less commonly used for memory and storage, which are now typically measured in gigabytes or, in the case of storage, terabytes. This is because these capabilities have increased.
Nevertheless, when smaller quantities are needed, like when discussing file sizes or disk utilization, the megabyte is still utilized. For instance, a novel could demand about 1 MB of disk space, a high-resolution picture could need more than 5 MB, and a lengthy audio book could need up to 500 MB.
Bigbit versus megabyte
There are instances where data transfer speeds are discussed in megabytes. A USB flash drive, for example, may be able to transport data at up to 400 megabytes per second (MBps). Particularly when acronyms are employed, megabytes per second and megabits per second (Mbps) are sometimes confused. Megabytes per second are frequently referred to as Mbps. This can occasionally make it challenging to determine which is accurate.
The term “megabits per second” refers only to bits, not bytes. One million bits (decimal) or 1,048,576 bits (binary) make up a megabit (Mb). Its size is one-eighth of a megabyte. Put differently, 1 MB is equal to 8 Mb. Rather than being used to define storage capacity, the megabit is usually employed to measure the amount of data being transported over a network.
Generally, data that is not in use is expressed in terms of megabytes or bigger, which are byte multipliers. The byte, and thus the megabyte, can also relate to data being transported across a network or storage bandwidth or throughput.
Binary versus decimal
The dual nature of byte multipliers, like megabyte, has over time led to misunderstanding and annoyance in the industry over MBps vs. Mbps as well as other issues. Either form of notation can be used by computer, storage, and network systems, and it’s not always obvious which one they have selected.
For instance, a flash storage product’s capacity may be advertised by the manufacturer as 900 GB, but the operating system of a computer may only display this amount as roughly 858 GB when the drive is connected. Is there an issue with the system, or is the variance due to the OS.
Storage vendors having distinct notation types?
An attempt has been made over the years to resolve the ambiguity resulting from the employment of two distinct methods for byte multipliers. Base-10 multipliers remained unaltered until 1999, when the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) released a standard that defined a new set of prefixes for base-2 multipliers.
A megabyte (MB) is equivalent to precisely 106 bytes, or 1,000,000 bytes, whereas a mebibyte (MiB) is equivalent to precisely 220 bytes, or 1,048,576 bytes, in accordance with the new standard.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and NIST are among the other standards organizations that have embraced the IEC standard for multiplier prefixes since it was published. However, the industry has been sluggish to implement the new standard, so there is still a good deal of ambiguity surrounding these matters even with their assistance. Thankfully, mebibyte and other base-2 multipliers are now being used by some companies, which helps clarify the multiplier issue, at least in some places.
