Baud

Baud is a unit of measurement that indicates the speed of data transmission in characters per second. It goes back to the French inventor J.M. Baudot, who made significant contributions to telecommunications in the 19th century.

In contrast to the widely used unit bit (binary digit), which represents the smallest amount of data in dual arithmetic, baud refers exclusively to the transmission speed of characters. A character can represent any amount of data, depending on the character set and encoding used.

It is important to note that baud and bit rate are not the same thing. The bit rate refers to the amount of bits transmitted per second, while baud indicates the number of characters per second. Only if the amount of data transferred is in bits per second are baud and bit rate identical in terms of quantity.

The difference between baud and bit rate is particularly relevant when using different modulation methods in data transmission, such as transmission via analog modems or when using multilevel signals in digital communication systems.

Overall, baud is an important unit of measurement in telecommunications that indicates the transmission speed of characters. While bit rate and baud are similar concepts, it is important to understand their difference to ensure accurate communication technology and data transmission.