Overview
The binary (Base 2) system is based upon powers of 2. It has many applications to situations that have only two alternatives, such as off and on, 0 and 1, yes and no. Electronics, computers, and computer-based hardware such as cell phones and satellites use the binary system.
Switching
The binary system was adapted in the 17th century by a mathematician named Leibniz from a system used extensively in China. It was quickly adopted by engineers, because 0 and 1 could represent a switch turned on or off. That simple on-off code could be used by sequences of electric lights hooked to vacuum tubes in early computers. As technology developed, vacuum tubes were replaced by transistors, as well as tinier and tinier microchips and circuits. The most powerful computers in the 1950’s and 1960’s filled entire rooms. Personal desktops and laptops today are just as powerful, taking a fraction of the space.
How Computers Calculate
Computers calculate very rapidly, and can use many shortcuts to common operations. The traditional method for adding binary numbers can be cut down by many operations by a shortcut called the “long carry method.” A system of advanced algebra based on Boolean logic and logical operations cuts the number of steps still further.
Bits
Bits, or binary digits, can be represented by different voltages, different polarities of a magnetic disk, or other alternatives. Bitwise operations and patterns provide even faster applications. Think of a bit as one letter in a word, 8 bits as a byte (B), 2 or 3 paragraphs of text as a kilobyte (KB), four 200-page books as a megabyte, and so on.
Smartphones and Other Applications
Smaller and smaller chips have been used to integrate computer processes with mobile phone technology, producing smartphones. As new operating systems are developed, new generations of mobile devices are running smaller, faster, and ever smarter. Newer forms of computing architecture such as quantum computers and neural networks are in development.
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