Understanding the Binary System
Explore the binary numeral system and understand why computers operate using zeros and ones. Learn how to interpret binary numbers, convert decimal values into binary, and grasp the concept of bits and bytes. This lesson builds a foundation for understanding how data is represented and processed in computer programming.
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The need for the binary numeral system
Before delving into the binary numeral system, let’s think about why computers only work with zeros and ones. Why can’t they work directly with text or images, for example? The answer is that it’s rather easy to build circuits that can represent two states. If we have an electrical wire, we can either run electricity through it or not. The flow or no flow of electricity could represent several things, such as on or off, true or false, or zero or one. Let’s think of these two states as zero and one for now, with zero representing no electricity flowing and one symbolizing that we do have flow. If we can represent these two states, we could add more wires ...