What is Binary Number
What is Binary Digit
Binary digit system is a notation to repsent numbers.
In decimal system, we use 10 symbols, 0 to 9. When a number is larger than 9, we start over by placing a new digit on the left. For example, 10 is 1 on left and 0 on right.
A binary number notation uses just 2 symbols.
A binary digit is either 1 or 0. For example,
1001
is four binary digits.
A binary digit is also called bit. So, 1001 is 4 bits.
Here's a table showing decimal and binary:
| decimal | binary |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 10 |
| 3 | 11 |
| 4 | 100 |
Binary digits is used in computers, because electronics deal with on/off signals, most easily represented by binary digits.
Possible Size in Binary Number
If a binary number has n digits, it has 2^n possible values.
| number of bits | possible distinct values |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 16 |
| 5 | 32 |
| 6 | 64 |
| 7 | 128 |
| 8 | 256 |
What is Bit
A bit is a single binary digit. It's has 2 possible values, usually represented as 1 or 0. With 1 usually means on, 0 is off. Or, 1 is true, 0 is false.