Counting in Binary

In the representation of numbers by only two values, 0 and 1 are the symbols used. This way of representing numbers is called either Binary or Base 2 notation.

Here's how you would count in binary using two fingers.

Notice how one finger corresponds to 0 as the right most digit, and the other to 1 as the right most digit.
This is similar to counting in decimal where each finger represents a particular digit.
As we saw before, the same was true with counting in octal using 8 fingers.
Also notice with only two symbols used, a fairly small value requires a long string of zeros and ones.

Who uses binary numbers numbers?

Binary numbers are mostly used with computers
Computers can only recognize 0's and 1's. This is because they work with electronic signals.
Computers can only tell when a signal is on or off.
Click here to see how a computer counts in binary.

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