Scribd
Upload
194 views

Binary Number Systems

The binary number system uses only two symbols, 0 and 1, and represents the smallest whole number system. While initially seen as primitive, the binary system proved useful for computer science and electronics due to its simplicity and ability to represent electrical signals with two states. Several prominent historical figures like Francis Bacon, Gottfried Leibniz, and George Boole contributed to establishing the theoretical and practical foundations of the binary system, recognizing its potential for applications in coding, logic, and circuitry. Today, the binary system remains central to computing and digital technologies.

Uploaded by

Nandan Mahesh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
194 views

Binary Number Systems

The binary number system uses only two symbols, 0 and 1, and represents the smallest whole number system. While initially seen as primitive, the binary system proved useful for computer science and electronics due to its simplicity and ability to represent electrical signals with two states. Several prominent historical figures like Francis Bacon, Gottfried Leibniz, and George Boole contributed to establishing the theoretical and practical foundations of the binary system, recognizing its potential for applications in coding, logic, and circuitry. Today, the binary system remains central to computing and digital technologies.

Uploaded by

Nandan Mahesh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

The binary number system, base two, uses only two symbols, 0 and 1.

Two is the s
mallest whole number that can be used as the base of a number system. For many y
ears, mathematicians saw base two as a primitive system and overlooked the poten
tial of the binary system as a tool for developing computer science and many ele
ctrical devices. Base two has several other names, including the binary position
al numeration system and the dyadic system. Many civilizations have used the bin
ary system in some form, including inhabitants of Australia, Polynesia, South Am
erica, and Africa. Ancient Egyptian arithmetic depended on the binary system. Re
cords of Chinese mathematics trace the binary system back to the fifth century a
nd possibly earlier. The Chinese were probably the first to appreciate the simpl
icity of noting integers as sums of powers of 2, with each coefficient being 0 o
r 1. For example, the number 10 would be written as 1010:
10= 1 x 23 + 0 x 22 + 1 x 21 + 0 x 20
Users of the binary system face something of a trade-off. The two-digit system h
as a basic purity that makes it suitable for solving problems of modern technolo
gy. However, the process of writing out binary numbers and using them in mathema
tical computation is long and cumbersome, making it impractical to use binary nu
mbers for everyday calculations.
There are no shortcuts for converting a number from the commonly used denary sca
le (base ten) to the binary scale.
Over the years, several prominent mathematicians have recognized the potential o
f the binary system. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) invented a "bilateral alphabet co
de," a binary system that used the symbols A and B rather than 0 and 1. In his p
hilosophical work, The Advancement of Learning, Bacon used his binary system to
develop ciphers and codes. These studies laid the foundation for what was to bec
ome word processing in the late twentieth century. The American Standard Code fo
r Information Interchange (ASCII), adopted in 1966, accomplishes the same purpos
e as Bacon's alphabet code. Bacon's discoveries were all the more remarkable bec
ause at the time Bacon was writing, Europeans had no information about the Chine
se work on binary systems.
A German mathematician, Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716), learned of th
e binary system from Jesuit missionaries who had lived in China. Leibniz was qui
ck to recognize the advantages of the binary system over the denary system, but
he is also well known for his attempts to transfer binary thinking to theology.
He speculated that the creation of the universe may have been based on a binary
scale, where "God, represented by the number 1, created the Universe out of noth
ing, represented by 0." This widely quoted analogy rests on an error, in that it
is not strictly correct to equate nothing with zero.
The English mathematician and logician George Boole (1815-1864) developed a syst
em of Boolean logic that could be used to analyze any statement that could be br
oken down into binary form (for example, true/false, yes/no, male/female). Boole
's work was ignored by mathematicians for 50 years, until a graduate student at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology realized that Boolean algebra could be
applied to problems of electronic circuits. Boolean logic is one of the buildin
g blocks of computer science, and computer users apply binary principles every t
ime they conduct an electronic search.
The binary system works well for computers because the mechanical and electronic
relays recognize only two states of operation, such as on/off or closed/open. O
perational characters 1 and 0 stand for 1 = on = closed circuit = true 0 = off =
open circuit = false. The telegraph system, which relies on binary code, demons
trates the ease with which binary numbers can be translated into electrical impu
lses. The binary system works well with electronic machines and can also aid in
encrypting messages. Calculating machines using base two convert decimal numbers
to binary form, then take the process back again, from binary to decimal. The b
inary system, once dismissed as primitive, is thus central to the development of
computer science and many forms of electronics. Many important tools of communi
cation, including the typewriter, cathode ray tube, telegraph, and transistor, c
ould not have been developed without the work of Bacon and Boole. Contemporary a
pplications of binary numerals include statistical investigations and probabilit
y studies. Mathematicians and everyday citizens use the binary system to explain
strategy, prove mathematical theorems, and solve puzzles.

You might also like