1's, 0's and Ancient Technology

Computers are very recent technology right?...Actually, believe it or not computers have been along for a long time, a longer time than most people would have guessed. So, maybe we just don't know what computers really are. What is a computer you ask? A computer is any device that can take in information, process this information and give you information back in return. This means almost anything could fall under the category of a computer, but the term is used more often for the digital computers we use today. In class today we were given an example of an early computer; an abacus.

The digital computers we use today consist of input and output devices. Input devices help us put information into the computer, and output devices give us feedback in result to the information we put in.

Examples of Input Devices:
-Keyboard
-Mouse
-Graphic Tablet

Examples of Output Devices:
-Monitor
-Speakers
- Printer

These devices help us put in information into the computer, and receive feedback in another form that we can understand. However, computers don't understand many things. In order for computers to take in and process the information given they need to see all the information in 0's and 1's. How is it possibly possible for a computer to perform all those functions when it only recognizes 0's and 1's?!?

Binary Digit System and Base 10 System

The computer is based on a binary digit system, or a base 2 system. This means that there are only two digits in the system: 0 and 1. We can say 1 and 0 represent the words on and off, 1 would mean on and 0 would mean off. Something can't be half on or half off and that's the way it works with computers as well. It's Either a one or a zero, off or on nothing else. Those, however, are still only 2 functions.

In our everyday lives we use the base 10 system, which has, you guessed it, 10 digits. Since we have 10 fingers the base 10 system works out well for us. The digits this system consists of are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0. Remember the place value charts we had to do way back then? Well, the base 10 and base 2 digit systems are based off of the same principal, that principal is the place value system! In the base 10 system we have 10 digits, which is the reason why the place values grow by multiplying by 10.



The example above shows the base 10 system and how it represents numbers. The number 1853 is used as an example. To form 1853 you would need 1 1000, 8 100s, 5 10s, and 3 1s. Which is why 1 is in the 1000's place value column, 8 is in the 100's place value column, 5 is in the 10's place value column and 3 is in the 1's place value column.

The Binary Digit System works similarly, but the place values grow by multiplying by 2 instead of 10, since there are two digits. So the amount of possibilities of numbers that the computer can create to represent different things is basically endless. Any input you put in the computer sends a stream of 0's and 1's to the processor and the information is sent back to you as what the 0's and 1's represent. So when you press the "E" key or any other key, the computer is not receiving the letter ''E''. Instead the computer receives a number value that represents that key.

The example below shows how the number 1853 would be represented by the binary digit system. Since the highest place value you can go to before going above 1853 is 1024 a 1 is placed there. Now we have 1024 we need 829 more to make up 1853. Next there is a 1 placed in the 512's column. Now we have 1536 we still need 317 to make up 1853. So we place a 1 in the 256 column. No we have 1792 we still need 61 more. 128 and 64 are both too much so a 0 is placed in both of those columns. 61 is what we need so there's a 1 placed in the 32, 16, 8, 4 and 1's column, since, 32 + 16 + 8 + 4 = 61. 2 is not needed so a 0 is placed there as well.



So there you have it, the binary digit system and the base 10 digit system. Without these two systems it would be basically impossible for a computer to function.

Sources for pictures used:
http://www.unm.edu/~tbeach/terms/images/base10.gif
http://www.unm.edu/~tbeach/terms/images/base2.gif