Difference Between GHz and MHz

Radio transmition diagram

GHz vs MHz

Hertz, or Hz, is the term used in wireless communications to refer to the number of cycles per second. This is known as the frequency that also corresponds to the transmission of radio signals in cycles per second. In this current age, all technologies are associated with increasing capacities and speeds in the area of computing and telecommunications. Both GHz and MHz are related to the computer’s processing speed and wireless transmissions.

So what are GHz and MHz?

“GHz” stands for gigahertz. “Giga” equals one billion or 10^9 in the SI measurement system. One GHz equals one billion cycles per second. Thus, GHz is a unit of frequency. GHz is used to refer to radio frequencies, sound frequencies, and computer processors at higher frequencies. In computers, GHz refers to the clock speed of the central processing unit. The faster the CPU clock ticks, the faster will be the data and instruction processing. Computer speeds have moved from 1 GHz in 2000 to 4 GHz at the present time. GHz is also used in radio communications to define the different electromagnetic spectrum bands. S-Band, which finds use in cordless telephones, wireless Internet, and Bluetooth devices falls under the two to four GHz range. The Global Positioning System uses L-Band that is the range of one to two GHz.

“MHz” stands for megahertz. “Mega” denotes one million. So one MHz equals one million hertz or cycles per second. MHz finds its applications in physical vibrations. It also denotes the measurement of CPU speeds that in turn refers to the number of instructions processed or data computed. The number of instructions processed are measured in clock speeds thus MHz refers to the clock speed in the area of computing.

Differences between the two:

One GHz equals one billion cycles per second whereas one MHz equals one million cycles per second.

GHz is used to study the electromagnetic spectrum other than computing and radio transmission. MHz is confined to the study of physical vibrations and clock speeds of CPUs.

Summary:
1. The rise of GHz frequencies was due to the advancements in semiconductor technologies.

2. “Hertz” denotes cycles per second. Similarly, MHz is megacycles.

3. Devices that are in the same GHz range tend to interfere with each other. For

example, microwaves can interfere with the working of Wi-Fi routers.

4. MHz is used to measure the speeds of buses and interfaces other than

microprocessors.

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