EASIEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE BINARY SYSTEM WORKS.

INTRODUCTION

Before we even delve into binary systems, If you are confused on how the binary system works in general, just bear with me and read this blog. Don't complicate things in your head, imagine you are a 10 year old about to do some math homework by using your fingers.

So, the first question we need to ask ourselves is, 'why use Binary' in the first place. Like what is all the fuss about? I am going to make this as simple as possible.

There are so many different ways of representing numbers, we've got the 'roman numerals' which I believe, everyone knows about. The base-ten numeral system is what people naturally prefer because it is easier, and can just count it easily.

Contrarily, data is viewed by computers as a collection of numbers expressed in the base-two numeral system, or binary system. These numbers consist of just two digits: one and zero.

HOW BINARY WORKS

Imagine for a moment that you had only two fingers to count on. You could count a zero, a one, and a two. But when you ran out of fingers, you’d need to note how many times you had already counted to two and then start over until you reached two again:

Every time you wrote down another pair of fingers, you’d also need to group them by powers of two, which is the base of the system. For example, to count up to thirteen, you would have to use both of your fingers six times and then use one more finger. Your fingers could be arranged as one eight, one four, and one one.

These powers of two correspond to digit positions in a binary number and tell you exactly which bits to switch on. They grow right to left, starting at the least-significant bit, which determines if the number is even or odd.

If you practice using the image illustration above, you should get a basic understanding of how binary numbers work!