Computer science: Binary Numbers

How computers store and use information has been a mystery to many. most know the basics

of what pieces a computer is composed of but few know how these pieces actually function

as a unit to get things done. Welcome to the cool table, you are about the witness the limitless*

power that knowledge of basic computer functionality grants you. lets get into it.

Computers store information in binary form, ones and zeros. to really grasp the concepts behind computers you need to understand binary. you probably know binary as the ones and zeros used by computers to represent information. but why? why use a numbering system that is unnatural to us and is quite confusing and mystical to the average user? because its simple. It is possible to build a system using decimal numbering. several people did it in the early days of computing. we don't do it though because it is vastly inefficient compared to the crude physical power that binary logic can hold.

Binary is a base 2 system compared to the base 10 decimal system. that means every 10 values we go up a digit. it also means that the tens are ten times larger than the ones. these rules of logic also apply to binary numbers, only with base 2. every 2 values we go up a digit.

one:  0001

carry over ones:

two:  0010

three: 0011

carry over the ones into the twos which then carry's into the fours

four:  0100

five:  0101

six:    0110

seven:0111

eight: 1000

16: 1111

17: 10001

enc...

using discrete electronic components like transistors and resistors we can preform logic that can be controlled using binary numbers. using binary numbers. 4 bits equal a byte, remember that.

we can assemble various structures that can preform operations using numbers or to numbers. these structures can be assembled into an ALU or Arithmetic Logic Unit. we can control what function the ALU will preform and to what by passing it an instruction value (a number) and some data.

The various structures that preform binary logic are called logic gates. they are composed of transistors and resistors. transistors are electronic switches that allow current to flow between the outer 2 legs when current is applied to the middle leg. resistors offer resistance to current. the coloured bands on a resistor dictate how much resistance it offers. modern day computer chips contain millions of miniature transistors.

in the next part of my series I will explain the logic gates that compose a binary adder and  subtractor and how they can be combined to form an ALU in a CPU. 

Transistor:

 

Resistor:

*note: power not actually limitless