From 4d327b2fd0db8c803f6b4e23ecbe98d6c0ef2592 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: tactonbishop Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2022 17:30:05 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Last Sync: 2022-10-01 17:30:05 --- Hardware/Analogue_and_digital.md | 2 +- Hardware/Binary/Binary_units_of_measurement.md | 12 ++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 13 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/Hardware/Analogue_and_digital.md b/Hardware/Analogue_and_digital.md index ca2c663..a19c44d 100644 --- a/Hardware/Analogue_and_digital.md +++ b/Hardware/Analogue_and_digital.md @@ -45,6 +45,6 @@ A digital system represents data as a sequence of symbols where each symbol is o Computers only use two symbols for each value: 0 and 1. -Although a digital system could use more than two symbols, adding more would increase the complexity and cost of the system. A set of only two symbols allows for simplified hardware and improved reliability. +Although a digital system could use more than two symbols, adding more would [increase the complexity](/Hardware/Binary/Why_computers_use_binary.md#from-circuits-to-programs) and cost of the system. A set of only two symbols allows for simplified hardware and improved reliability. All data within a computer from images to sounds are sequences of 0s and 1s. In practice, the sequences are stored in various ways. On a CD, the binary digits are stored as bumps (0) or flat spaces (1). On a flash drive, the 1s and 0s are electrical charges etc. diff --git a/Hardware/Binary/Binary_units_of_measurement.md b/Hardware/Binary/Binary_units_of_measurement.md index 2660c9f..ccfe61a 100644 --- a/Hardware/Binary/Binary_units_of_measurement.md +++ b/Hardware/Binary/Binary_units_of_measurement.md @@ -5,3 +5,15 @@ categories: - Hardware tags: [bits, binary] --- + +# Binary units of measurement + +A single place or symbol in a decimal number is called a **digit**. For example the number 34.3 is a number containing three digits. A digit can be any numeral through 0-9. + +The equivalent entity in the [binary number system](/Hardware/Binary/The_binary_number_system.md) is the **bit**. For example the binary number 110 has three bits. A bit can only have one of two values in contrast to a digit which can have one of ten values: 0 or 1. + +## Sequences of bits + +The informational complexity of digit is much larger than a bit: it can represent one of 10 states whereas a bit can only represent one of two states. Therefore to express greater complexity we work with sequences of bits. Everytime we increase the binary place value of a binary number we are adding to the sequence and increasing the overall complexity of the number by a factor of 2. + +The standard **base sequence** of bits is called a **byte**. This is a binary number comprising **eight bits**. For example the number `11001110` is a byte equivalent to 206 in decimal.