Kuueteistkümnendnumbrite

Kuueteistkümnendnumbrite, commonly known as hexadecimal numbers, are a positional numeral system with a base of 16. This means it uses 16 distinct symbols to represent numbers, unlike the decimal system (base 10) which uses ten symbols (0-9). The hexadecimal system utilizes the digits 0 through 9 and the letters A through F to represent values. The digits 0-9 have their standard decimal values, while the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F correspond to the decimal values 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, respectively.

The hexadecimal system is widely used in computer science and digital electronics. This is largely due to its convenient relationship with the binary system (base 2). Since 16 is a power of 2 (16 = 2^4), each hexadecimal digit can be directly represented by exactly four binary digits (bits). This makes it much easier for humans to read and write long binary sequences, which are fundamental to computer operations. For example, the binary number 11111111 is equivalent to the hexadecimal FF, which is a more compact and manageable representation.

Converting between decimal and hexadecimal is straightforward. To convert a hexadecimal number to decimal, multiply each digit by 16 raised to the power of its position (starting from 0 on the right) and sum the results. To convert a decimal number to hexadecimal, repeatedly divide the decimal number by 16 and record the remainders. The hexadecimal representation is formed by the remainders read in reverse order. This system's efficiency in bridging the gap between human readability and computer binary representation makes it an indispensable tool in various technical fields.