On Mar 18, 7:44�am, Klystron wrote:
� �I am trying to convert "words per minute" into "bits pe
r second."
Bits per second, in turn, is APPROXIMATELY equal to baud, a common
measure of modem (or other means of data transmission) speed. I need to
quantify one factor: How many letters are in a "word?" If we assume that
there are 5 (five) letters to a word, my calculations look like this:

It has been common convention in wireline telegraphy to count "one
word"
as having 5 characters followed by a space. The origin of that seems
to be
that it was most advantageous for humans to use/remember while using
the Commercial Codes, a form of encipherment both to protect
information and to reduce the number of words in a telegram.
Bentley's
Commercial Code seems to have been the most used with 17 editions,
publishing Code Books for any business or government.

As a result of those Commercial Codes, actual cryptographic codes
also used 5 characters followed by a space, hence the term '5-letter
groups' in referring to a "word." By the time of WWII starting, the
cryptographic systems were more advanced and it was not possible
to tell one 'word' from another but it was common practice to send
encrypted text as 5-letter (or character) groups; the actual space in
clear text was determined by the null or space substitute in poly-
alphabetic rolling-key encryption codes. (reference: M-209 Code
Converter used in the field in Europe by US forces)

73, Len AF6AY