giga-
4.4
A computing prefix meaning 1,073,741,824 units often used with bytes
- other
- Specialized
:
giga-
- When comparing data transfer speeds, we often measure in giga bits per second.
Examples
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The new computer has a storage capacity of 64 giga bytes, allowing for many applications.
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The dataset contained over a hundred giga bytes of information relevant to the study.
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Remember it goes kilo mega giga Terra in powers of three terawatt hour.
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So we're talking in like the giga electron Volt to Tera electron Volt range for ions.
Surface Forms
giga- main
Etymology
Giga- is often used in computing to mean 2^30 (1,073,741,824) units because computers count in twos, so people used giga- for a 'giant' block of bytes; to avoid this confusion the special prefix gibi- was later made for 2^30.
