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What is a Kilobyte (KB)?
A kilobyte represents a multiple of the byte unit for digital information. It can refer to either 1000 bytes or 1024 bytes. As defined by the International System of Units (SI), the prefix kilo means 1000 (103); thus, a kilobyte is 1000 bytes. The recommended symbol for kilobyte is kB.
- Kilobyte (KB) is equal to 1,024 bytes.
- A byte represents a single typed character.
- An image-free email is roughly 2 KB.
- A five-page document could be around 100 KB.
- Text data is small, using fewer bytes than images, audio, or video.
- For example, 23,000 bytes is roughly equivalent to 23 KB.
When referencing random-access memory, a kilobyte often means 1024 (210) bytes. This is because modern memory architectures use sizes that are powers of two, and the difference between 210 and 103 is less than 2.5%. The term kibibyte is always used for 1024 bytes, removing the ambiguity of kilobyte.
Kilobyte in Decimal (1000 bytes)
In the International System of Units (SI), the prefix kilo represents 1000 (103), so a kilobyte is 1000 bytes. The unit symbol is kB.
This is standardized by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). This definition, along with others like mega (1,000,000) and giga (1,000,000,000), is often used for data transfer rates in computer networks, hard drive speeds, flash media, and storage capacities such as hard drives and DVDs. It is consistent with how metric prefixes are used in other areas, like CPU speeds or performance measurements.
According to international standards such as IEC 80000-13, 1 kB is 8000 bits. One thousand kilobytes (1000 kB) make one megabyte (1 MB), with 1 MB being 1,000,000 bytes.
Kilobyte in Binary (1024 bytes)
A kilobyte is commonly referred to as 1024 bytes (210 B). Metric prefixes for binary multiples were used for convenience since 1024 is close to 1000.
The binary interpretation of metric prefixes is still common in Microsoft Windows and is also used for RAM, such as main memory and CPU cache, due to binary addressing in memory.
When using binary, kilobyte is considered 1024 bytes, with the symbol KB, often using an uppercase K. Sometimes, the B is omitted. For example, a processor with 65,536 bytes of cache memory is said to have "64 K" of cache. With this method, 1024 KB is one megabyte (1 MB), where 1 MB equals 10242 bytes.
In December 1998, the IEC introduced prefixes like kibi, mebi, and gibi to remove confusion and indicate powers of 1024. The symbol KiB for kibibyte represents 1024 bytes. These prefixes were later included in IEC 80000-13. The IEC also specified that kilobytes should only be used for 1000 bytes, with the International System of Units limiting the use of SI prefixes to powers of 10.
FAQ on Kilobyte (kB)
1. How many kilobytes are in a megabyte?
According to the decimal system, one megabyte(MB) is equal to 1000 kilobytes(KB), where each megabyte represents 1000 units.
2. What is a byte?
A byte is traditionally defined as a group of 8 bits, which can represent a number, letter, or character in binary form.
3. How many bytes are in a kilobyte?
A kilobyte is approximately 1,000 bytes but specifically equals 1,024 bytes (2^10).
4. Who determines the measurement of a kilobyte?
The measurement of a kilobyte, along with other metric values, is set by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), which establishes international standards for computer and electronic technologies.
5. What is the binary system used for in computers?
The binary system is a mathematical system used by computers to translate regular numerals and characters into a format they can understand, consisting of ones and zeros. Data is stored and processed in this form.
6. How does a kilobyte store data?
A kilobyte stores data in binary form, which is the language of most computers. It uses groups of 8 bits to represent different letters, numbers, or characters.
7. What type of files are typically measured in kilobytes?
Small files such as short emails, images, and text documents are typically measured in kilobytes. Examples include:
- GIF: around 800 KB
- JPEG: around 100 KB
- Short email: around 5 KB
- PNG: about 4.4 KB
- A page of plain text: about 2 KB
8. What types of files are usually measured in megabytes (MB)?
Larger files such as video files, webpages, and MP3s tend to be measured in megabytes (MBs) rather than kilobytes.