*** CACHE REQUIRES 4 AA BATTERIES! ***
bi·na·ry
ˈbīˌnərē
adjective: binary
- relating to, using, or expressed in a system of numerical notation that has 2 rather than 10 as a base.
noun: binary; plural noun: binaries
the binary system: binary notation. "the device is counting in binary
Binary describes a numbering scheme in which there are only two possible values for each digit: 0 and 1. In digital data memory, storage, processing, and communications, the 0 and 1 values are sometimes called "low" and "high," respectively.
In a digital numeral, the digit furthest to the right is the "ones" digit; the next digit to the left is the "twos" digit; next comes the "fours" digit, then the "eights" digit, then the "16s" digit, then the "32s" digit, and so on. The decimal equivalent of a binary number can be found by summing all the digits.For example, the binary 00010101 is equivalent to the decimal 1 + 4 + 16 = 21:
| DECIMAL = 21 |
128 |
64 |
32 |
16 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
| BINARY = 10101 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
*** CACHE REQUIRES 4 AA BATTERIES! ***
Trivia for the Geek in you:
The international symbol for power buttons is a simple circle intersected at the top by a line. This symbol is the fourth evolution of the standard for power buttons since the 1940s. Early computer and electronic systems had toggle switches that were simply labeled On and Off on the respective sides of the toggle.
This standard was replaced fairly quickly in an effort to make switches universal across languages; the On and Off were replaced with the numeral 1 and 0, a nod to the binary system, indicating the power was on (1) or the power was off (0). When toggle switches were replaced by push buttons, the symbol evolved again, this time to a 0 with a line in the center indicating that the single button was capable of turning the machine on and off.
The introduction of lower-power states (such as the standby mode on modern computers) necessitated a fourth revision. The most recognizable iteration of the symbol, a circle broken by a vertical line, indicates that the button can power a machine on, off, or enter it into a power saving state.