ConvertStuff Help

• Definitions

• Fun Facts

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Definitions

• 1-bit image = A monochrome image (black and white).
• 8-bit image = A grayscale with 256 shades of gray or an indexed color image with 256 colors contains 8 bits of color data, 8 per channel.
• 16-bit image = A monitor with 16-bit color can display 65,536 colors.
• 24-bit image = A RGB image contains 24 bits of color data, 8 per channel. A monitor with 24-bit color can display 16.8 million colors.
• 32-bit image = A CMYK image contains 32 bits of color data, 8 per channel. A monitor with 24-bit color can display 16.8 million colors; 32-bit color does not add more colors, but gives the display additional masking and channeling abilities.
• Apothecaries = A obsolete system used by the apothecaries in weighing out medicines and pharmaceutical potions during the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries - fundamentally based on the weight of the ounce in the troy weight system.
• ASCII = The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a standard seven-bit code that was established to achieve compatibility between various types of data processing equipment. ASCII, pronounced (ask-key), is the common code for microcomputer equipment. The standard ASCII character set consists of 128 decimal numbers ranging from zero through 127 assigned to letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and the most common special characters. The Extended ASCII Character set also consists of 128 decimal numbers and ranges from 128 through 255 representing additional special, mathematical, graphic, and foreign characters.
• Avoirdupois = The Avoirdupois ('having weight' in medival French) weight system was introduced in England in about AD 1340 and has been the system in everyday use in the English-speaking world virtually ever since, although eclipsed in modern times by the metric system.
• Binary system = Numeral system in which only two different symbols are used, and corresponding therefore to a system of base (radix) 2. Represented in computing by on and off pulses of current. The symbols or numbers used are generally represented as 0 and 1.
• Bit Depth = In bitmap graphics, its the number of bits per pixel. The larger the bit depth the more color and more accurate color representation in print and online. The number of bits per pixel determines the number of shades of gray or variations of color that can be displayed by a computer monitor. For example, a monitor with a bit depth of 1 can display only black and white; a monitor with a bit depth of 16 can display 65,536 different colors. Bit depth is also known as color depth and/or pixel depth.
• Decimal = The number system that uses the base (radix) 10 - that is, the numerals 1 to 9 and 0 - is called the decimal system. Fractions in this in this system are represented by putting a decimal point after the units figure (equivalent to an ordinary fraction in which the denominator is a power of 10). Thus 2 3/10 = 2.3.
• Dew Point = The temperature to which a given parcel of air must be cooled at constant pressure and constant water-vapor content in order for saturation to occur. When this temperature is below 0 degrees celsius, it is called the frost point.
• DPI = Dots per inch. A measure of the resolution of printers, scanners and monitors. The more dots per inch, the higher the resolution: 600 dpi would mean 600 x 600 = 360,000 dots per square inch. In general, the more dots, the better and sharper the image. DPI is printer resolution. DPI is not image resolution although frequently used that way.
• Effective Resolution = When placing and scaling images, you are changing what is known as the image effective resolution. Effective resolution is the image resolution subsequent to scaling. Effective resolution is a calculation of the actual resolution factored for the scaling performed in the page layout application. The math works out so that if you reduce the scale of an image in the page layout, you increase the effective resolution. As you increase the amount of scaling, you will decrease the effective resolution. Cropping the scanned image to the size intended for print also will benefit toward the reduction of physical file size. If an image will require scaling, scanning resolution should be adjusted accordingly. The equation is: (Actual Image Resolution) / (scale) = Effective Resolution.
• Halftone = A reproduction of a grayscale image which uses dots of varying size or density to give the impression of areas of gray.
• Heat Index or HI = Also sometimes referred to as the "apparent Temperature". The HI, given in degrees F, is a measure of how hot it feels when relative humidity (RH) is added to the actual air temperature.
• Hexadecimal = Describing a number system with the base (radix) 16, commonly used in computers. Its digits are 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E, and F.
• LPI = Lines Per Inch. A measurement of the resolution of a halftone screen, or of the number of lines a printer prints on a page in each vertical inch. Sometimes also called line frequency, screen frequency or halftone resolution. The LPI is dependent on the output device and the type of paper. Countries using the metric system may use lines per centimeter (L/cm). To simulate shades of gray using only black ink a printer prints varying sizes and patterns of halftone spots (spots are made up of many dots of ink/toner). Small halftone spots (fewer dots) create the visual illusion of a light gray while larger halftone spots (more dots) appear darker, blacker. The printer uses a halftone grid divided into cells. The cells contain the halftone spots. How close together the cells in the grid are is measured in lines per inch. This is the LPI or line screen.
• Octal notation = A number system in which the base (radix) is 8 - that is, in which the full set of digits is 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7.
• PPI = Pixels per inch. A measure of the number of pixels displayed in an image. A digital image is composed of samples that your screen displays in pixels. The PPI is the display resolution not the image resolution.
• Radix = The base of a numeral system is the number of one-digit numbers in it, including 0. In normal everyday arithmetic, the sequence 0 to 9 involves 10 numbers and the base is 10. The word is the Latin for 'root'.
• Relative Humidity = The (dimensionless) ratio of the actual vapor pressure of the air to the saturation vapor pressure. The relative humidity is usually expressed in percent, and can be computed from psychrometric data.
• Scientific Notation = Also called power-of-10 notation, is a method of writing extremely large and small numbers. It is a short hand method for writing numbers, and an easy method for calculations.Ê Numbers in scientific notation are made up of three parts: the coefficient, the base and the exponent. Scientific notation numbers may be written in different forms. The number 6x10 to the power 9 could also be written as 6e+9. The +9 indicates that the decimal point would be moved 9 places to the right to write the number in standard notation. Ex. 1: The standard notation of the number 60,300,000 would be 6.03e+7 in scientific notation. Ex. 2: The standard notation of the number 0.00053 would be 5.3e-4 n scientific notation.
• SPI = Samples per inch. It is a measurement of the resolution of scanners and digital images. To scan an image the scanner takes a sampling of portions of the image. The more samples it takes per inch, the closer the scan is to the original image. The higher the resolution, the higher the SPI. DPI and PPI are often used instead although they are actually different measures of resolution.
• Standard Notation = Also called standard form, are numbers simply written in a familar, non-manimulative form. Ex. 1: The scientific notation of 9.02e-7 would be 0.000000902 in standard notation. NOTE: In this program standard form gets converted to scientific notation when the number to the left or to the right of the decimal point is greater than six.
• Wind Chill = A measure of the cooling effect of the wind on exposed skin.

Fun Facts

• One byte = 8 bits, or a single character. 10 bytes = a single word.
• One kilobyte = 2 to the 10th power, or 1,024 bytes, or a very short story.
• One megabyte = 2 to the 20th power, or 1,048,576 bytes, or a small novel or a 3.5 inch floppy disk. 5 Megabytes = The complete works of Shakespeare.
• One gigabyte = 2 to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 bytes, or a pickup truck filled with paper or a movie at TV quality.
• One terabyte = 2 to the 40th power, or 1,099,511,627,776 bytes or all the X-ray films in a large technological hospital OR 50,000 trees made into paper and printed. 10 Terabytes = The printed collection of the US Library of Congress. 11.5 Terabytes = The human brain will store in its lifetime. Thats's 100 trillion bits OR 12 million megabytes.
• One petabyte equals 2 to the 50th power, or 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes, or 3 years of EOS data (2001). 2 Petabytes = All US academic research libraries.
• One exabyte equals 2 to the 60th power, or 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes. 5 Exabytes = All words ever spoken by human beings.
• One zettabyte equals 2 to the 70th power, or 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 bytes.
• One yottabyte equals 2 to the 80th power, or 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 bytes.

Tools

• Character Conversions
  • Tab1: ASCII Conversions
    Allows for for conversion of ASCII strings to and from: binary, decimal, hex, integers, and reverse. You may also convert ASCII to: octal, lowercase, titlecase, and uppercase.
    Step 1: Choose 'ASCII Conversions' tab. Ex. Choose 'ASCII Conversions'.
    Step 2: Choose the item from the popup menu you wish to use for conversions. Ex. Choose 'binary'.
    Step 3: Now you have 2 options: (A) type or paste string into field on LEFT and then click on the '--->' button. This is the 'ASCII string to binary' conversion and the result will be in the RIGHT field. (B) type or paste string into field on RIGHT and then click on the '<---' button. This is the 'from binary to ASCII string' conversion and the result will be in the LEFT field.
    
  • Tab2: ASCII Table
    Shows the ASCII table with binary, decimal, hex, and octal equivalent values.
    
  • Tab3: Key Codes
    Shows the actual key value assigned to each key pressed on keyboard and their decimal values transmitted by the keyboard to your computer.
    

• Extra Conversions
  • Tab1: Animal Age
    Step 1: Enter the age of the animal or yourself into the first field.
    Step 2: Choose the type of animal:cat, dog, or horse from the popup menu.
    Step 3: Click on the 'Calculate' button to get results for your age in animal years and animal age in human years.
    NOTE: Cat formula: 15 cat years per human year for the first year, 9 years for second year, then 4 cat years per human year for each year after.
    NOTE: Dog formula.: 10.5 dog years per human year for the first 2 years, then 4 dog years per human year for each year after.
    NOTE: Horse formula: 6.5 horse years per human year for the first 4 years, then 2.5 horse years years per human year for each year after.
    
  • Tab2: Depreciation
    Determine straight-line and sum of the years digits depreciation for the following...
    depreciation of year, overall depreciation, value of asset now. 10 years is the max.
    

• File Download Time Conversions
  • Shows amount of time a file(s) takes to download using a specific bandwidth service.
    Step 1: Type or paste your file size into edit field and your known speed if applicable.
    Step 2: Select unit of measurement from radio buttons and speed type if applicable.
    Step 3: Click on the 'Calculate' button. The result is the amount of time it will take to download the file or files.
    NOTE: Cable modem: The upper limit is 52 Mbps on it for an ISP. The 52 Mbps cable channel is subdivided among individual users.
    

• Print and Image Conversions
  • Tab1: ERC (Effective Resolution Calculator)
    Use this before scaling an image in a page layout program to determine it. This way you can see what PPI an image takes on once the scaling is performed. If the calculated effective resolution doesn't meet your standards then you'll know to either crop image in a photo editing program or rescan image at appropriate resolution and size intended for print.
    Step 1: Enter the known actual image resolution in PPI of your image into the top field.
    Step 2: Enter the known placement scale percentage of your image into the second field.
    Step 3: Click on the 'Calculate' button. The results will appear in the 'Effective Resolution PPI' field.
    
  • Tab2: File Size
    Use this to determine the file size of a digital image.
    Step 1: Choose either 'Inches' or 'Pixels'.
    Step 2: Enter the known pixel height of your image into the top field.
    Step 3: Enter the known pixel width of your image into the second field.
    Step 4: Choose the bit depth from the drop down menu that fits your image.
    Step 5: Enter the known PPI resolution of image into the third field. NOTE: Not needed for pixel calculation.
    Step 6: Click on the 'Calculate' button. The results will appear in the bottom 3 fields.
    
  • Tab3: PPI Needed For Scan
    Use this to determine what PPI to scan an image at so you get the correct halftone when printing. The key is to scan in relation to the printers desired line screen frequency.
    Step 1: Enter the known linescreen of your image into the top field.
    Step 2: Enter the known scaling percentage of your image into the second field.
    Step 3: Click on the 'Calculate' button. The results will appear in the 'PPI To Scan Image' field.
    
  • Tab4: PPI to Inches
    Use this to determine the actual physical size of a digital image in inches.
    Step 1: Enter the known number of pixels in height of your image into the top field.
    Step 2: Enter the known number of pixels in width of your image into the second field.
    Step 3: Enter the known PPI resolution of your image into the third field.
    Step 4: Click on the 'Calculate' button. The result will appear in the bottom 'Result in Inches' field.
    
  • Tab5: Web Colors
    Use this to convert Hex colors (e.g. FF33CC) to actual colors, to convert colors to Hex colors, to check whether a color is web-safe, and to show the nearest web-safe color.
    Section 1: Check to see if your 'RGB color value' is web safe. Enter values for a color's red, green and blue (0-255), or choose a color by clicking the Choose Color button.
    Section 2: Check to see if your 'Hex value for your color' is web safe. Enter a color value in Hex, for example FF0033, or choose a color by clicking the Choose Color button.
    Section 3: Convert your known RGB to Hex values or vise-versa by entering in your values in the appropriate places and then choosing the correct convert button.
    

• Unit Conversions
  • Allows for conversion of units to other units.
    Step 1: Choose conversion type/category. Ex. Area.
    Step 2: Type or paste the number or fraction to convert. Ex. 1.
    Step 3: Choose unit to convert from. Ex. square inches.
    Step 4: Choose unit to convert to. Ex. ares.
    Step 5: Click on the 'Convert' button. The result will appear in the 'Result' field. Ex. 6.451600e-6.
    Hint 1: You can click the arrow icon to show you result in practical terms. Ex. If clicked down will give... 1 square inches = 6.451600e-6 ares.
    Hint 2: You can click on the check box labled 'Show standard notation' and then click on the 'Convert' button to get result in standard notation instead of scientific notation which is the default result. Ex. 0.0000064516.
    NOTE: Bits and Bytes: The popup menu contains 84 types of which each line has 2 types that are listed in the form of: IEC Standard (Symbol) / Old Standard (Symbol)-binary or decimal. Each has the same result therefore they are listed together.
    NOTE: In December 1998 the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the leading international organization for worldwide standardization in electrotechnology, approved as an IEC International Standard names and symbols for prefixes for binary multiples for use in the fields of data processing and data transmission.
    NOTE: Binary code methods are used to describe Memory Size, or Data Storage. Calculated as some exponent of two (powers of 2, e.g. 2^20 bytes = 1,048,576 bytes).
    NOTE: Decimal code and Metric code methods are used to describe Data Transfer Rate, but some hard drive manufacturers (and some newer BIOSs) use them to express capacity. Calculated as some exponent of ten (powers of 10, e.g. 10^6 bytes = 1,000,000 bytes).
    

• Weather Conversions
  • Tab1: Cricket Chrip Temperature
    Use this to determine the temperature outside given the number of cricket chirps heard.
    Step 1: Ehter the number of cricket chirps heard in 15 seconds.
    Step 2: Click on the 'Calculate' button. The results for Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin, and Rankine will be in the bottom 4 fields.
    
  • Tab2: dp/HI/RH
    Use this to determine the dew point, heat index, and relative humidity.
    Step 1: Choose the calculation type: degrees Celsius or degrees Fahrenheit.
    Step 2: Enter the known air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit into the first field.
    Step 3: Choose the other calculation factor: dp or RH.
    Step 4: Enter the other known factor amount into the second field.
    Step 5: Click on the 'Calculate' button. The results for dp, HI, and RH will be in the bottom 3 fields.
    NOTE: Valid entries for Heat Index calculation are, air temperatures greater than 80 degrees Fahrenheit ( 27 degrees Celsius ), dew point temperatures greater than 65 degrees Fahrenheit ( 12 degrees Celsius ), and relative humidities higher than 40 percent.
    
  • Tab3: Wind Chill
    Use this to calculate wind chill index. Can use pre-November 2001 or new formula to calculate wind chill.
    Step 1: Enter the known wind speed in MPH into the first field.
    Step 2: Enter the known air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit into the second field.
    Step 3: Choose the calculation type: Pre-Nov 2001 or the new formula.
    Step 4: Click on the 'Calculate' button. The results for wind chill index will be in the bottom field.
    NOTE: Wind Chill Temperature is only defined for temperatures at or below 50 degrees Fahrenheit and wind speeds above 3 or 4 mph depending on formula used.