# bit (quantity)

a piece that is small

- Computed level: L5 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: everyday  ·  Arena: common

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [piece](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-piece.portion), [small](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-small.size)

**Through:** when a piece is also small, it becomes a small piece

**Novel properties:**
- tiny amount
- discrete unit

## Examples
- The Mars Rover's 8-bit computer processed commands for over 14 years on Mars. *(computing)*
- A single bit in the Therac-25 radiation therapy machine's code caused fatal overdoses in 1985–1987. *(engineering)*
- One bit flipped in Venezuela's 2020 election results database raised widespread doubts. *(institutions)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-bit.quantity*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-bit.quantity.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*