Prefix

In telecommunications some very large and very small values are used. To make writing of these numbers
easier use is made of a prefix. The prefix gives a value with which the value must be multiplied.

Some prefixes are also used in digital communications and computer technology but they have a slightly
different value because they are based on a power of 2.

Analog Digital
Prefix
value value
p (pico) 10-12 -
n (nano) 10-9 -
µ (micro) 10-6 -
m (milli) 10-3 -
k (kilo) 103 210
(1000) (1024)
M (mega) 106 220
(1,000,000) (1,048,576)
G (Giga) 109 230
(1,000,000,000) (1,073,741,824)
T (Tera) 1012 240
(1,000,000,000,000) (1,099,511,627,776)