What is Baud? Understanding Serial Communication Speed

Bauds (pronounced "bows") is a unit of measurement for data transmission speed, specifically for serial communication. It represents the number of bits that can be transmitted per second over a communication channel.

Baud is defined as the number of times per second that a signal can be transmitted over a communication channel. For example, if a modem is set to transmit at 9600 baud, it means that it can send 9600 signals (or 9600 bits) per second over the communication channel.

The term "baud" comes from the name of French engineer Jean-Maurice-Emile Baudot, who developed one of the earliest serial communication protocols in the late 19th century. Baudot's protocol used a series of electrical pulses to transmit data over a telegraph network, and it was measured in terms of the number of pulses per second. Over time, the term "baud" became widely used in the telecommunications industry to refer to the data transmission speed of any serial communication protocol.

In modern times, baud has largely been replaced by more precise units of measurement, such as bits per second (bps) or bytes per second (Bps), which provide a more accurate measure of data transmission speed. However, the term "baud" is still sometimes used in older systems or in reference to historical communication protocols.