Why Do Computers Use 1s and 0s? Binary and Transistors Explained.

Binary, the language of ones and zeros, is fundamental to how computers operate. While many recognize its association with computing, few grasp what binary truly represents or why it’s essential for machines. This system simplifies complex operations into a format that electronic devices can process efficiently.

Binary is a simple yet fascinating counting system that predates computers. Unlike tally marks, which are straightforward but inefficient, or the base-10 positional system we use daily with digits 0 through 9 representing increasing powers of ten, binary uses only two symbols: 0 and 1. Each digit in binary represents an increasing power of two (e.g., ones, twos, fours), making it less efficient than base-10 but far superior to tally marks for representation scalability.

Computers operate using micro transistors, tiny switches that can be turned on or off with a weak electrical charge. These switches enable counting through either the tally system, where each "on" switch equals one unit, or binary—a more efficient method where each switch represents a binary digit (1 for 'on', 0 for 'off'). Using eight transistors in the tally system allows representation up to 8; however, in binary it extends to 255. A single transistor is called a bit (binary digit), while eight bits form a byte.

Understanding ASCII and Binary Representation Binary is a counting system used by computers, where data is represented in numbers. ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) converts these numerical values into human-readable characters by assigning each binary byte to a specific letter or symbol. For instance, the uppercase 'A' corresponds to 65 in decimal or "01000001" in binary. This process involves transistors arranged to represent these patterns of on/off states.

The Evolution from 8-bit to 16-bit Systems Early systems using an 8-bit structure could only handle up to 255 unique values, which was insufficient as computing demands grew. To address this limitation, newer designs combined two bytes into one number with a total of sixteen binary digits—expanding the range exponentially from 255 up to over sixty-five thousand possible representations (65535). While not always fully utilized within programs themselves due its optional nature; such advancements opened significant opportunities across technology development.