Computer Measurements

Measurement Prefixes

The following table summarizes common measurements used with computers(especially, the larger ones that aren’t in everyday use, yet).

Number(Base 2) Prefix
2^10 = 1,024 Kilo
2^20=1,048,576 Mega
2^30=1,073,741,824 Giga
2^40=1,099,511,627,776 Tera
2^50=1,125,899,906,842,624 Peta
2^60=1,152,921,504,606,846,976 Exa
2^70=1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 Zetta
2^80=1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 Yotta
Number(Base 10) Name
10^3 = 1,000 Thousand
10^6=1,000,000 Million
10^9=1,000,000,000 Billion
10^12=1,000,000,000,000 Trillion
10^15=1,000,000,000,000,000 Quadrillion
10^18=1,000,000,000,000,000,000 Quintillion
10^21=1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Sextillion
10^24=1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Septillion

*Note, These tables were originally one, but WordPress constraints required it be split in two.

The American number naming convention continues beyond what is shown here, but the EIC prefix convention only covers what is shown here. See [1] below to see the number naming convention(s) beyond what is shown here.

Reference

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_prefix
[2] http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/large.html
[3] http://www.iec.org/