Computing Alphabet
Created | Updated Jun 7, 2006
Your everyday computer works on a very simple alphabet. Here it is. 1 and 0. That's it, 1 and 0. It sounds so simple but these two digits can be used in many different ways to get all those excellent 3D graphics we can't get enough of. Here's how it works. Say you get a WORD of 00101001.(Eight bits equals one word, a bit is a single digit) What we do is start at the left. the first digit (If it is 1) is worth 1, the second digit is worth 2, the third digit is worth 4, the fourth 8, the fifth 16, the sixth 32, the seventh 64, the eighth 128. This is Binary. All these ones and zeros travel into different chips which give them an alterior output. Lets say we send a 0 and a 0 to an AND chip, we would get 0, but if we sent 1 and 1 we would get 1. If we sent 0 and 1 or a 1 and 0 we would still get 0 because this is an AND chip so we need 1 AND 1 to get 1, all other options equal 0. If we sent the same information to an OR chip we get very different results. Basically 1 or 0 = 1, 0 or 1 = 1, 1 and 1 = 0, 0 and 0 = 0. So for that one, anything but two zeros gives a positive result.
Our standard system is called decmial because we use ten digits whereas binary used two digits. Another system called hexadecimal, which uses 16 digits is also widely used in computers.
I believe our race could advance further and faster if we adopted the octal numbering system where only eight numbers were employed, since this system can be halved and halve again, but who would ever consider that kind of a change?
;-)
Our standard system is called decmial because we use ten digits whereas binary used two digits. Another system called hexadecimal, which uses 16 digits is also widely used in computers.
I believe our race could advance further and faster if we adopted the octal numbering system where only eight numbers were employed, since this system can be halved and halve again, but who would ever consider that kind of a change?
;-)
