Bit vs Baud
In computing, bit is the basic unit of information. Simply, a bit can be seen as a variable that can take only one of two possible values. These two possible values are ‘0’ and ‘1’ and interpreted as binary digits. The two possible values could also be interpreted as logical (Boolean) values, which are ‘true’ and ‘false’. Baud is a measurement used to measure the data transmission speed. The meaning of baud is the symbols or pulses per second.
What is a Bit?
In computing, bit is the basic unit of information. Simply, a bit can be seen as a variable that can take only one of two possible values. These two possible values are ‘0’ and ‘1’ and interpreted as binary digits. The two possible values could also be interpreted as logical (Boolean) values, which are ‘true’ and ‘false’. In practice, bits can be implemented in several ways. Typically, it is implemented using an electrical voltage. Value ‘0’ in a bit is represented by 0 volts and value ‘1’ in a bit is represented using a positive voltage relative to the ground (usually up to 5 volts) in devices using positive logic. In modern memory devices, such as dynamic random access memories and flash memories, two levels of charge in a capacitor are used to implement a bit. In optical disks, two values of a bit are represented using the availability or non availability of a very small pit on a surface that is reflective. The symbol used to represent bit is “bit” (according to the 2008 – ISO/IEC standard 80000-13) or lowercase “b” (according to the 2002 – IEEE 1541 Standard).
What is Baud?
Baud is a measurement used to measure the data transmission speed. The meaning of baud is the symbols or pulses (state transitions) per second. The symbol for baud is “Bd”. Unit of baud is named after a French engineer Jean Maurice Emile Baudot, who is the inventor of telegraphy. Further, baud was first used to measure the telegraph transmission speed. But baud is not currently used for measuring the data transmission speed and it is been replaced with bits/s (bits per second). Baud and bits/s are related but they are not the same since one state transition would involve several bits of data.
What is the difference between Bit and Baud?
In computing, bit is the basic unit of information, whereas Baud is a measurement used to measure the data transmission speed that has the meaning of symbols or pulses (state transitions) per second. The symbol used to represent bit is “bit” or “b”, while the symbol used to represent a baud is “Bd”. Baud is not currently used and it has been replaced by the bits/s (bits per second) measure. These two measurements are related, but they are not the same. Sometimes baud rate is incorrectly used in places that should use the bit rate. These two rates would be the same for data transmissions in simple links that use a single bit for a symbol. But in other places these two rates are different.