Tera- (; symbol T) is a metric prefix denoting a factor of a short-scale trillion or long-scale billion (1012 or 1000000000000). It was adopted in the International System of Units (SI) in 1960. The prefix is derived from the Greek word τέρας (téras), meaning "monster".
Contents
Exponentiation
1 Tm2 means one square terametre, or the size of a 1000000000000 m × 1000000000000 m square (1024 m2), not 1000000000000 square metres (1012 m2).
1 Tm3 means one cubic terametre, or the size of a 1000000000000 m × 1000000000000 m × 1000000000000 m cube (1036 m3), not 1000000000000 cubic metres (1012 m3)
Computing
In computing, tera- may sometimes refer to 240 (10244 or 1099511627776) instead of 1012, such as in data storage units like the terabyte (TB). The binary prefix tebi- (; symbol Ti) has been adopted by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to signify 240 and avoid this ambiguity. JEDEC however still uses tera- for 240 in its memory standards.
Common usage
Computing
terabyte (TB): unit of digital storage used in hard disk drives and solid-state drives.
terabytes written (TBW), a standard for SSD reliability metrics by JEDEC.
terabit (Tbit): common in data transmission rates.
teraFLOPS (TFLOPS): used to describe performance in supercomputers and graphics processing units (GPUs).
terascale computing
Electromagnetism
terahertz (THz): used to describe electromagnetic radiation with frequencies between microwave and infrared ranges, as in:
terahertz laser
terahertz metamaterial
terahertz radiation
terahertz spectroscopy
terahertz tomography
terahertz nondestructive evaluation
Energy and power
terajoule (TJ): used to express energy yields of large events, such as nuclear explosions or earthquakes.
terawatt (TW): used in measuring global electrical generation and consumption.
Worldwide installed solar capacity reached several terawatts in 2022.
Peak power of a 30-microsecond lightning strike.
terawatt-hour (TW⋅h or TWh): common unit for large-scale electrical energy production or consumption.