Binary: count in 1s and 0s
A computer only knows two things: on and off. Flip the switches and watch it count.
Flip the bits
Each switch is one . It is worth the number on top, but only when it is on. Add up the ones that glow.
Decimal (what we count in)
0
Binary (what the computer sees)
00000000
Eight bits make one byte. Each place is double the one to its right: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128.
With all eight switches you can count every whole number from 0 to 255. That is 256 different values
from just on and off.
Hit the target
We pick a number. You flip bits until your total matches it. Land three and you earn the badge.
Make
42
keep going
Your total
0
In binary
00000000
Letters are numbers too
A computer stores letters as numbers. The capital letter A is the number 65.
The letter
A
Is really the byte
01000001
Count it yourself: in 01000001 the only switches that are on are
the 64 place and the 1 place. 64 + 1 = 65, and 65 is the code for A. Every letter you
read on a screen is a tiny number hiding in eight .
← The Foundry · every fact here is real science, kept simple. Tap the underlined words to dig deeper.