1024/Historical Note

Historical Note on $1024$ (One Thousand and Twenty-Four)

While the metric scaling prefix $\mathrm k$ is generally used to denote a scale factor of $1000$, in the field of computer science it is used to mean a scale factor of $1024$.

In order to distinguish the two in case of confusion, the $1024$ multiplier can be denoted by an uppercase $\mathrm K$.

Thus $1 \, \mathrm K$ of memory conventionally means $1024$ bytes.

It is of course purely coincidental that $2^{10}$ is very close in value to $10^3$.


Sources

  • 1986: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers ... (previous) ... (next): $1024$
  • 1997: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $1024$
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