A unit of information content equal to the natural logarithm of 2 bits, used in information theory. Also short for 'nationalist' or a person's name.
In information theory, 'nat' comes from 'natural unit' referring to logarithms with base e (Euler's number). Coined in the mid-20th century as computer science developed specialized vocabulary for measuring information content. As abbreviation for 'nationalist,' it's much older, from the 18th century.
The information theory 'nat' is named after natural logarithms, making it one of the few units named after a mathematical concept rather than a person or physical property. It's a perfect example of how digital age technology creates entirely new vocabularies that would be meaningless to previous generations.
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