binäärinumerolla

A binäärinumerolla, or binary number, is a number expressed in the base-2 numeral system. This system uses only two symbols, typically 0 and 1, to represent any numerical value. Unlike the decimal system (base-10) which uses ten digits (0 through 9), the binary system relies on powers of two. Each digit in a binary number represents a power of two, starting from the rightmost digit as 2^0 (which is 1), then 2^1 (which is 2), 2^2 (which is 4), and so on, moving left.

For example, the binary number 1011 can be converted to decimal as follows: (1 * 2^3) + (0 * 2^2) + (1 * 2^1) + (1 * 2^0) = 8 + 0 + 2 + 1 = 11.

Binary numbers are fundamental to digital electronics and computer science. Computers use binary because electrical circuits can easily represent two states: on (represented by 1) and off (represented by 0). These 0s and 1s, called bits, are the building blocks of all digital information, from text and images to complex programs. Operations like addition and subtraction can also be performed directly on binary numbers using specific rules. The concept of binary representation is crucial for understanding how computers process and store data.