Tera-
Metric prefix
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tera- (/ˈtɛrə/; symbol T) is a metric prefix denoting a factor of a short-scale trillion or long-scale billion (1012 or 1000000000000).[1] It was adopted in the International System of Units (SI) in 1960. The prefix is derived from the Greek word τέρας (téras), meaning "monster".[2]
Exponentiation
- 1 Tm2 means one square terametre, or the size of a 1000000000000 m × 1000000000000 m square (1024 m2), not 1000000000000 square metres (1012 m2).
- 1 Tm3 means one cubic terametre, or the size of a 1000000000000 m × 1000000000000 m × 1000000000000 m cube (1036 m3), not 1000000000000 cubic metres (1012 m3)
Computing
In computing, tera- may sometimes refer to 240 (10244 or 1099511627776) instead of 1012, such as in data storage units like the terabyte (TB). The binary prefix tebi- (/ˈtɛbɪ-/; symbol Ti) has been adopted by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to signify 240 and avoid this ambiguity.[3] JEDEC however still uses tera- for 240 in its memory standards.[4]
Common usage
Computing
- terabyte (TB): unit of digital storage used in hard disk drives and solid-state drives.
- terabytes written (TBW), a standard for SSD reliability metrics by JEDEC.
- terabit (Tbit): common in data transmission rates.
- teraFLOPS (TFLOPS): used to describe performance in supercomputers and graphics processing units (GPUs).
Electromagnetism
- terahertz (THz): used to describe electromagnetic radiation with frequencies between microwave and infrared ranges, as in:
Energy and power
- terajoule (TJ): used to express energy yields of large events, such as nuclear explosions or earthquakes.
- terawatt (TW): used in measuring global electrical generation and consumption.
- Worldwide installed solar capacity reached several terawatts in 2022.[5]
- Peak power of a 30-microsecond lightning strike.
- terawatt-hour (TW⋅h or TWh): common unit for large-scale electrical energy production or consumption.
