trit

[by analogy with bit] One base-3 digit; the amount of information conveyed by a selection among one of three equally likely outcomes (see also {bit}). Trits arise, for example, in the context of a {flag} that should actually be able to assume three values -- such as yes, no, or unknown. Trits are sometimes jokingly called 3-state bits. A trit may be semi-seriously referred to as a bit and a half, although it is linearly equivalent to 1.5849625 bits (that is, log_{2$(3)} bits).

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