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Giga (G) Unit Definition

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Giga is a SI unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of a billion (109 or 1000000000). It is represented by the prefix giga or the symbol G.

Overview

Giga is derived from the Greek word γίγας, meaning giant. The Oxford English Dictionary reports the earliest written use of giga in this sense to be in the Reports of the IUPAC 14th Conference in 1947 which states: "The following prefixes to abbreviations for the names of units should be used: G giga 109×."

When referring to information units in computing, such as gigabyte, giga may sometimes mean 1073741824 (230), although such use is inconsistent, contrary to standards and has been discouraged by the standards organizations. The inconsistency is that gigabit (Gb) is never (or very rarely) used with the binary interpretation of the prefix, while gigabyte (GB) is sometimes used this way. The binary prefix gibi (Gi) has been adopted for 230, while reserving giga exclusively for the metric definition.

Examples

  • Gigahertz (GHz) — clock rate of a CPU, for instance, 3 GHz = 3000000000 Hz

  • Gigabit (Gb) — bandwidth of a network link, for instance, 1 Gbit/s = 1000000000 bit/s

  • Gigabyte (GB) — for instance, for hard disk capacity, 120 GB = 120000000000 bytes

  • Gigayear (Gyr) or gigaannum — one billion (109) years, sometimes abbreviated Gyr, but the preferred usage is Ga.

SI Prefixes

Here is a table of the SI prefixes and some of their properties:

Name & Symbol

Base 10

Decimal

English Word

Adoption

Short Scale

Long Scale

Quetta (Q)

1030

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Nonillion

Quintillion

2022

Ronna (R)

1027

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Octillion

2022

Yotta (Y)

1024

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Septillion

Quadrillion

1991

Zetta (Z)

1021

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Sextillion

Trilliard

1991

Exa (E)

1018

1,000,000,000,000,000,000

Quintillion

Trillion

1975

Peta (P)

1015

1,000,000,000,000,000

Quadrillion

Billiard

1975

Tera (T)

1012

1,000,000,000,000

Trillion

Billion

1960

Giga (G)

109

1,000,000,000

Billion

Milliard

1960

Mega (M)

106

1,000,000

Million

1873

Kilo (k)

103

1,000

Thousand

1795

Hecto (h)

102

100

Hundred

1795

Deca (da)

101

10

Ten

1795

One (1)

100

1

One

-

Deci (d)

10-1

0.1

Tenth

1795

Centi (c)

10-2

0.01

Hundredth

1795

Milli (m)

10-3

0.001

Thousandth

1795

Micro (µ)

10-6

0.000001

Millionth

1873

Nano (n)

10-9

0.000000001

Billionth

Milliardth

1960

Pico (p)

10-12

0.000000000001

Trillionth

Billionth

1960

Femto (f)

10-15

0.000000000000001

Quadrillionth

Billiardth

1964

Atto (a)

10-18

0.000000000000000001

Quintillionth

Trillionth

1964

Zepto (z)

10-21

0.000000000000000000001

Sextillionth

Trilliardth

1991

Yocto (y)

10-24

0.000000000000000000000001

Septillionth

Quadrillionth

1991

Ronto (r)

10-27

0.000000000000000000000000001

Octillionth

2022

Quecto (q)

10-30

0.000000000000000000000000000001

Nonillionth

Quintillionth

2022

Other Prefix Unit Definitions

Convert to Another Prefix Unit

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Round (decimal places):

Related Definitions

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Sources

“Giga-.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Feb. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giga-.

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