A byte is a standard unit of digital information made up of 8 bits. It's the basic building block for representing data in computers, where a single byte can typically store one character — such as a letter, number, or symbol.
Bytes are the foundation for measuring file size and storage capacity. Whether you're looking at the size of a text file or the storage available on a USB drive, the number is usually expressed in bytes or its larger multiples: kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), and terabytes (TB).
In memory and storage systems, bytes play a critical role in data organization. Operating systems, applications, and databases are designed to read and write data in byte-sized chunks. As a result, understanding how bytes work is key to grasping how digital systems store, transfer, and manage information.
A megabyte (MB) is a unit of digital data equal to 1,024 kilobytes (KB) or 1,048,576 bytes. It is commonly used to represent file sizes, especially for images, documents, audio files, and smaller applications.
In practical terms, a high-quality JPEG photo might be around 2–5 MB, while a minute of MP3 audio at standard bitrate can take up about 1 MB. Email attachments, app downloads, and storage space are often measured in megabytes, making it a familiar benchmark for everyday computing.
Although gigabytes (GB) and terabytes (TB) are more frequently referenced for modern storage, megabytes still play an important role in performance-sensitive environments. They're useful for monitoring bandwidth usage, managing mobile data plans, and designing efficient digital systems where minimizing file size is critical.
SI (Base 10):
Formula: Megabyte = Byte ÷ "Number of Bytes in 1 Megabyte"
Calculation: 100 × 1.0E-6 = 0.0001 Megabyte
Binary (Base 2):
Formula: Megabyte = Byte ÷ "Number of Bytes in 1 Megabyte"
Calculation: 100 × 9.5367431640625E-7 = 9.5367431640625E-5 Megabyte
| Byte | Megabyte (Binary) | Megabyte (SI) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 0 | 0 |