256th

The number 256 is the eighth power of two, calculated as 2^8. This makes it a significant number in computing, particularly in digital systems where powers of two are fundamental. For instance, an 8-bit byte can represent 256 different values, ranging from 0 to 255. This capacity is crucial for storing information such as characters, pixels, and small integers.

In hexadecimal notation, 256 is represented as 100. This is because hexadecimal is a base-16 system, and 16 squared (16^2) equals 256. This is often encountered when dealing with memory addresses or color codes.

The number 256 also appears in various other contexts. For example, it is the number of possible color combinations in a 24-bit color system where each of the red, green, and blue components has 8 bits of information (2^8 x 2^8 x 2^8 = 16,777,216, but individual color channels are 256 levels). Furthermore, in some older television standards, 256 lines were used for image resolution. Mathematically, 256 is a composite number, divisible by 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256. Its prime factorization is 2^8.