Convert CD (74 minute) (CD (74 min)) to Bit (b) instantly.
About these units
CD (74 minute) (CD (74 min))
A 74-minute CD typically holds 650 MB of digital data. Originally designed for audio playback, CDs later became a major format for software distribution, backups, and digital media. The 74-minute length was chosen to accommodate Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on a single disc—a blend of engineering, commerce, and cultural symbolism. As CDs pivoted to data storage (CD-ROM), their precise reflectivity patterns and error-correction codes allowed reliable long-term archival. These discs became essential for installing software, distributing games, and storing personal files throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
Bit (b)
A bit is the most fundamental unit of digital information, representing a binary value of 0 or 1. In physical systems, a bit corresponds to two distinguishable states—such as high/low voltage, magnetic polarity, or light/dark in optical systems. Bits form the basis of all digital computation: CPUs manipulate bits through logic gates, memory stores bits in capacitors or magnetic cells, and communication networks transmit bits as electrical pulses or photons. Although extremely small in size, bits accumulate into vast structures—from kilobytes of text to petabytes of cloud storage. Every digital phenomenon—files, images, videos, software—ultimately reduces to sequences of bits. The bit is the "atom" of information.