How the binary system works
The binary system is a system that uses only two symbols: 0 and 1. It serves as the foundation for all modern digital storage. In the binary system, numbers are used as combinations of these two symbols, which correspond to the concept of "off" (0) and "on" (1) states.
Key Concepts:
- Base-2: The binary system is a base-2 number system, using the two digits (0 and 1) to represent numbers.
- Place Value: Binary numbers use a place value system with increasing powers of 2.
- Number Representation: Binary numbers are constructed by combining 0s and 1s in a sequence.
- Arithmetic: Arithmetic operations in the binary system have similarities with the decimal system we all use to date.
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Binary is widely used in computing because it aligns with the fundamental nature of digital electronics. In computers, everything is represented using binary, including numbers, letters, special characters and instructions. Each binary digit, or bit, can be in one of the two states, which correspond directly to the electronic states of transistors (on/off) used in the hardware of computers.
Binary numbers are also used for various data encoding reasons, such as representing images, audio files, and video's, as well as in communication and data storage systems. Understanding the binary system is mandatory for anyone working with digital technology and computer science. The ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) table is also used with coding. It is basicly the foundation of character encoding and is the reason why we can see all kinds of things on our computers.