Binary number

In mathematics and digital electronics, a

binary number is a number expressed in
the base-2 numeral system or binary
numeral system, which uses only two
symbols: typically "0" (zero) and "1" (one).

The base-2 numeral system is a positional

notation with a radix of 2. Each digit is
referred to as a bit. Because of its
straightforward implementation in digital
electronic circuitry using logic gates, the
binary system is used by almost all
modern computers and computer-based
devices.

History
The modern binary number system was
studied in Europe in the 16th and 17th
centuries by Thomas Harriot, Juan
Caramuel y Lobkowitz, and Gottfried
Leibniz. However, systems related to
binary numbers have appeared earlier in
multiple cultures including ancient Egypt,
China, and India. Leibniz was specifically
inspired by the Chinese I Ching.

Egypt
Arithmetic values represented by parts of the Eye of
Horus

The scribes of ancient Egypt used two

different systems for their fractions,
Egyptian fractions (not related to the
binary number system) and Horus-Eye
fractions (so called because many
historians of mathematics believe that the
symbols used for this system could be
arranged to form the eye of Horus,
although this has been disputed).[1] Horus-
Eye fractions are a binary numbering
system for fractional quantities of grain,
liquids, or other measures, in which a
fraction of a hekat is expressed as a sum
of the binary fractions 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16,
1/32, and 1/64. Early forms of this system
can be found in documents from the Fifth
Dynasty of Egypt, approximately 2400 BC,
and its fully developed hieroglyphic form
dates to the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt,
approximately 1200 BC.[2]

The method used for ancient Egyptian

multiplication is also closely related to
binary numbers. In this method,
multiplying one number by a second is
performed by a sequence of steps in
which a value (initially the first of the two
numbers) is either doubled or has the first
number added back into it; the order in
which these steps are to be performed is
given by the binary representation of the
second number. This method can be seen
in use, for instance, in the Rhind
Mathematical Papyrus, which dates to
around 1650 BC.[3]

China
Daoist Bagua

The I Ching dates from the 9th century BC

in China.[4] The binary notation in the I
Ching is used to interpret its quaternary
divination technique.[5]

It is based on taoistic duality of yin and

yang.[6]eight trigrams (Bagua) and a set of
64 hexagrams ("sixty-four" gua),
analogous to the three-bit and six-bit
binary numerals, were in use at least as
early as the Zhou Dynasty of ancient
China.[4]
The Song Dynasty scholar Shao Yong
(1011–1077) rearranged the hexagrams in
a format that resembles modern binary
numbers, although he did not intend his
arrangement to be used mathematically.[5]
Viewing the least significant bit on top of
single hexagrams in Shao Yong's square
and reading along rows either from bottom
right to top left with solid lines as 0 and
broken lines as 1 or from top left to bottom
right with solid lines as 1 and broken lines
as 0 hexagrams can be interpreted as
sequence from 0 to 63. [7]

India
The Indian scholar Pingala (c. 2nd century
BC) developed a binary system for
describing prosody.[8][9] He used binary
numbers in the form of short and long
syllables (the latter equal in length to two
short syllables), making it similar to Morse
code.[10][11] Pingala's Hindu classic titled
Chandaḥśāstra (8.23) describes the
formation of a matrix in order to give a
unique value to each meter. The binary
representations in Pingala's system
increases towards the right, and not to the
left like in the binary numbers of the
modern, Western positional notation.[12][13]

Other cultures
The residents of the island of Mangareva
in French Polynesia were using a hybrid
binary-decimal system before 1450.[14] Slit
drums with binary tones are used to
encode messages across Africa and
Asia.[6] Sets of binary combinations similar
to the I Ching have also been used in
traditional African divination systems such
as Ifá as well as in medieval Western
geomancy.

Western predecessors to Leibniz

In the late 13th century Ramon Llull had

the ambition to account for all wisdom in
every branch of human knowledge of the
time. For that purpose he developed a
general method or ‘Ars generalis’ based on
binary combinations of a number of
simple basic principles or categories, for
which he has been considered a
predecessor of computing science and
artificial intelligence (see Bonner 2007
<http://lullianarts.net/ >, Fidora et al. 2011
<https://www.iiia.csic.es/es/publications/r
amon-llull-ars-magna-artificial-
intelligence/ >).

In 1605 Francis Bacon discussed a system

whereby letters of the alphabet could be
reduced to sequences of binary digits,
which could then be encoded as scarcely
visible variations in the font in any random
text.[15] Importantly for the general theory
of binary encoding, he added that this
method could be used with any objects at
all: "provided those objects be capable of a
twofold difference only; as by Bells, by
Trumpets, by Lights and Torches, by the
report of Muskets, and any instruments of
like nature".[15] (See Bacon's cipher.)

John Napier in 1617 described a system

he called location arithmetic for doing
binary calculations using a non-positional
representation by letters. Thomas Harriot
investigated several positional numbering
systems, including binary, but did not
publish his results; they were found later
among his papers.[16] Possibly the first
publication of the system in Europe was by
Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, in 1700.[17]

Leibniz and the I Ching

Gottfried Leibniz

Leibniz studied binary numbering in 1679;

his work appears in his article Explication
de l'Arithmétique Binaire (published in
1703) The full title of Leibniz's article is
translated into English as the "Explanation
of Binary Arithmetic, which uses only the
characters 1 and 0, with some remarks on
its usefulness, and on the light it throws on
the ancient Chinese figures of Fu Xi".[18]
(1703). Leibniz's system uses 0 and 1, like
the modern binary numeral system. An
example of Leibniz's binary numeral
system is as follows:[18]

0 0 0 1   numerical value 20
0 0 1 0   numerical value 21
0 1 0 0   numerical value 22
1 0 0 0   numerical value 23
Leibniz interpreted the hexagrams of the I
Ching as evidence of binary calculus.[19]
As a Sinophile, Leibniz was aware of the I
Ching, noted with fascination how its
hexagrams correspond to the binary
numbers from 0 to 111111, and concluded
that this mapping was evidence of major
Chinese accomplishments in the sort of
philosophical mathematics he admired.[20]
Leibniz was first introduced to the I Ching
through his contact with the French Jesuit
Joachim Bouvet, who visited China in 1685
as a missionary. Leibniz saw the I Ching
hexagrams as an affirmation of the
universality of his own religious beliefs as
a Christian.[19] Binary numerals were
central to Leibniz's theology. He believed
that binary numbers were symbolic of the
Christian idea of creatio ex nihilo or
creation out of nothing.[21]

[A concept that] is not easy to

impart to the pagans, is the
creation ex nihilo through God's
almighty power. Now one can
say that nothing in the world
can better present and
demonstrate this power than the
origin of numbers, as it is
presented here through the
simple and unadorned
 presentation of One and Zero or
Nothing.

— Leibniz's letter to the Duke

of Brunswick attached with
the I Ching hexagrams[19]

Later developments

George Boole
In 1854, British mathematician George
Boole published a landmark paper
detailing an algebraic system of logic that
would become known as Boolean algebra.
His logical calculus was to become
instrumental in the design of digital
electronic circuitry.[22]

In 1937, Claude Shannon produced his

master's thesis at MIT that implemented
Boolean algebra and binary arithmetic
using electronic relays and switches for
the first time in history. Entitled A Symbolic
Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits,
Shannon's thesis essentially founded
practical digital circuit design.[23]
In November 1937, George Stibitz, then
working at Bell Labs, completed a relay-
based computer he dubbed the "Model K"
(for "Kitchen", where he had assembled it),
which calculated using binary addition.[24]
Bell Labs authorized a full research
program in late 1938 with Stibitz at the
helm. Their Complex Number Computer,
completed 8 January 1940, was able to
calculate complex numbers. In a
demonstration to the American
Mathematical Society conference at
Dartmouth College on 11 September 1940,
Stibitz was able to send the Complex
Number Calculator remote commands
over telephone lines by a teletype. It was
the first computing machine ever used
remotely over a phone line. Some
participants of the conference who
witnessed the demonstration were John
von Neumann, John Mauchly and Norbert
Wiener, who wrote about it in his
memoirs.[25][26][27]

The Z1 computer, which was designed and

built by Konrad Zuse between 1935 and
1938, used Boolean logic and binary
floating point numbers.[28]

Representation
Any number can be represented by a
sequence of bits (binary digits), which in
turn may be represented by any
mechanism capable of being in two
mutually exclusive states. Any of the
following rows of symbols can be
interpreted as the binary numeric value of
667:

1010011011
| ― | ―― | | ― | |
☒☐☒☐☐☒☒☐☒☒
ynynny yny y
A binary clock might use LEDs to express binary
values. In this clock, each column of LEDs shows a
binary-coded decimal numeral of the traditional
sexagesimal time.

The numeric value represented in each

case is dependent upon the value
assigned to each symbol. In a computer,
the numeric values may be represented by
two different voltages; on a magnetic disk,
magnetic polarities may be used. A
"positive", "yes", or "on" state is not
necessarily equivalent to the numerical
value of one; it depends on the
architecture in use.

In keeping with customary representation

of numerals using Arabic numerals, binary
numbers are commonly written using the
symbols 0 and 1. When written, binary
numerals are often subscripted, prefixed
or suffixed in order to indicate their base,
or radix. The following notations are
equivalent:

100101 binary (explicit statement of

format)
100101b (a suffix indicating binary
format; also known as Intel
convention[29][30])
100101B (a suffix indicating binary
format)
bin 100101 (a prefix indicating binary
format)
1001012 (a subscript indicating base-2
(binary) notation)
%100101 (a prefix indicating binary
format; also known as Motorola
convention[29][30])
0b100101 (a prefix indicating binary
format, common in programming
languages)
 6b100101 (a prefix indicating number of
bits in binary format, common in
programming languages)

When spoken, binary numerals are usually

read digit-by-digit, in order to distinguish
them from decimal numerals. For example,
the binary numeral 100 is pronounced one
zero zero, rather than one hundred, to make
its binary nature explicit, and for purposes
of correctness. Since the binary numeral
100 represents the value four, it would be
confusing to refer to the numeral as one
hundred (a word that represents a
completely different value, or amount).
Alternatively, the binary numeral 100 can
be read out as "four" (the correct value),
but this does not make its binary nature
explicit.

Counting in binary
Decimal Binary
pattern number

0 0

1 1

2 10

3 11

4 100

5 101

6 110

7 111

8 1000

9 1001

10 1010

11 1011

12 1100

13 1101

14 1110

15 1111
Counting in binary is similar to counting in
any other number system. Beginning with
a single digit, counting proceeds through
each symbol, in increasing order. Before
examining binary counting, it is useful to
briefly discuss the more familiar decimal
counting system as a frame of reference.

Decimal counting

Decimal counting uses the ten symbols 0

through 9. Counting begins with the
incremental substitution of the least
significant digit (rightmost digit) which is
often called the first digit. When the
available symbols for this position are
exhausted, the least significant digit is
reset to 0, and the next digit of higher
significance (one position to the left) is
incremented (overflow), and incremental
substitution of the low-order digit
resumes. This method of reset and
overflow is repeated for each digit of
significance. Counting progresses as
follows:

000, 001, 002, ... 007, 008, 009,

(rightmost digit is reset to zero, and the
digit to its left is incremented)
010, 011, 012, ...
   ...
 090, 091, 092, ... 097, 098, 099,
(rightmost two digits are reset to zeroes,
and next digit is incremented)
100, 101, 102, ...

Binary counting

This counter shows how to count in binary from

numbers zero through thirty-one.

Binary counting follows the same

procedure, except that only the two
symbols 0 and 1 are available. Thus, after
a digit reaches 1 in binary, an increment
resets it to 0 but also causes an increment
of the next digit to the left:

0000,
0001, (rightmost digit starts over, and
next digit is incremented)
0010, 0011, (rightmost two digits start
over, and next digit is incremented)
0100, 0101, 0110, 0111, (rightmost three
digits start over, and the next digit is
incremented)
1000, 1001, 1010, 1011, 1100, 1101,
1110, 1111 ...

In the binary system, each digit represents

an increasing power of 2, with the
rightmost digit representing 20, the next
representing 21, then 22, and so on. The
equivalent decimal representation of a
binary number is sum of the powers of 2
which each digit represents. For example,
the binary number 100101 is converted to
decimal form as follows:

1001012 = [ ( 1 ) × 25 ] + [ ( 0 ) × 24 ] + [ (
0 ) × 23 ] + [ ( 1 ) × 22 ] + [ ( 0 ) × 21 ] + [ (
1 ) × 20 ]
1001012 = [ 1 × 32 ] + [ 0 × 16 ] + [ 0 × 8 ]
+[1×4]+[0×2]+[1×1]
1001012 = 3710

Fractions
Fractions in binary only terminate if the
denominator has 2 as the only prime
factor. As a result, 1/10 does not have a
finite binary representation, and this
causes 10 × 0.1 not to be precisely equal
to 1 in floating point arithmetic. As an
example, to interpret the binary expression
for 1/3 = .010101..., this means: 1/3 = 0 ×
2−1 + 1 × 2−2 + 0 × 2−3 + 1 × 2−4 + ... =
0.3125 + ... An exact value cannot be
found with a sum of a finite number of
inverse powers of two, the zeros and ones
in the binary representation of 1/3
alternate forever.
Fraction Decimal Binary Fractional approximation

1/1 1  or  0.999... 1  or  0.111... 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8...

1/2 0.5  or  0.4999... 0.1  or  0.0111... 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 . . .

1/3 0.333... 0.010101... 1/4 + 1/16 + 1/64 . . .

1/4 0.25  or  0.24999... 0.01  or  0.00111... 1/8 + 1/16 + 1/32 . . .

1/5 0.2  or  0.1999... 0.00110011... 1/8 + 1/16 + 1/128 . . .

1/6 0.1666... 0.0010101... 1/8 + 1/32 + 1/128 . . .

1/7 0.142857142857... 0.001001... 1/8 + 1/64 + 1/512 . . .

1/8 0.125  or  0.124999... 0.001  or  0.000111... 1/16 + 1/32 + 1/64 . . .

1/9 0.111... 0.000111000111... 1/16 + 1/32 + 1/64 . . .

1/10 0.1  or  0.0999... 0.000110011... 1/16 + 1/32 + 1/256 . . .

1/11 0.090909... 0.00010111010001011101... 1/16 + 1/64 + 1/128 . . .

1/12 0.08333... 0.00010101... 1/16 + 1/64 + 1/256 . . .

1/13 0.076923076923... 0.000100111011000100111011... 1/16 + 1/128 + 1/256 . . .

1/16 + 1/128 + 1/1024 . .

1/14 0.0714285714285... 0.0001001001...
.

1/15 0.0666... 0.00010001... 1/16 + 1/256 . . .

1/16 0.0625  or  0.0624999... 0.0001  or  0.0000111... 1/32 + 1/64 + 1/128 . . .

Binary arithmetic
Arithmetic in binary is much like arithmetic
in other numeral systems. Addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division
can be performed on binary numerals.
Addition

The circuit diagram for a binary half adder, which adds

two bits together, producing sum and carry bits

The simplest arithmetic operation in binary

is addition. Adding two single-digit binary
numbers is relatively simple, using a form
of carrying:

0+0→0
0+1→1
1+0→1
 1 + 1 → 0, carry 1 (since 1 + 1 = 2 = 0 +
(1 × 21) )

Adding two "1" digits produces a digit "0",

while 1 will have to be added to the next
column. This is similar to what happens in
decimal when certain single-digit numbers
are added together; if the result equals or
exceeds the value of the radix (10), the
digit to the left is incremented:

5 + 5 → 0, carry 1 (since 5 + 5 = 10 = 0 +
(1 × 101) )
7 + 9 → 6, carry 1 (since 7 + 9 = 16 = 6 +
(1 × 101) )
This is known as carrying. When the result
of an addition exceeds the value of a digit,
the procedure is to "carry" the excess
amount divided by the radix (that is,
10/10) to the left, adding it to the next
positional value. This is correct since the
next position has a weight that is higher by
a factor equal to the radix. Carrying works
the same way in binary:

1 1 1 1 1 (carried
digits)
0 1 1 0 1
+ 1 0 1 1 1
 -------------
= 1 0 0 1 0 0 = 36

In this example, two numerals are being

added together: 011012 (1310) and 101112
(2310). The top row shows the carry bits
used. Starting in the rightmost column, 1 +
1 = 102. The 1 is carried to the left, and the
0 is written at the bottom of the rightmost
column. The second column from the right
is added: 1 + 0 + 1 = 102 again; the 1 is
carried, and 0 is written at the bottom. The
third column: 1 + 1 + 1 = 112. This time, a 1
is carried, and a 1 is written in the bottom
row. Proceeding like this gives the final
answer 1001002 (36 decimal).
When computers must add two numbers,
the rule that: x xor y = (x + y) mod 2 for any
two bits x and y allows for very fast
calculation, as well.

Long carry method

A simplification for many binary addition

problems is the Long Carry Method or
Brookhouse Method of Binary Addition.
This method is generally useful in any
binary addition in which one of the
numbers contains a long "string" of ones.
It is based on the simple premise that
under the binary system, when given a
"string" of digits composed entirely of n
ones (where: n is any integer length),
adding 1 will result in the number 1
followed by a string of n zeros. That
concept follows, logically, just as in the
decimal system, where adding 1 to a string
of n 9s will result in the number 1 followed
by a string of n 0s:

Binary
Decimal
1 1 1 1 1 likewise
9 9 9 9 9
+ 1
+ 1
———————————
 ———————————
1 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 0 0

Such long strings are quite common in the

binary system. From that one finds that
large binary numbers can be added using
two simple steps, without excessive carry
operations. In the following example, two
numerals are being added together: 1 1 1 0
1 1 1 1 1 02 (95810) and 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 12
(69110), using the traditional carry method
on the left, and the long carry method on
the right:
Traditional Carry Method
Long Carry Method

vs.
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
(carried digits) 1 ←
1 ← carry the 1
until it is one digit past
the "string" below
1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0
1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 cross
out the "string",
+ 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1
+ 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 and
cross out the digit that was
 added to it
———————————————————————
——————————————————————
= 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1
1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1

The top row shows the carry bits used.

Instead of the standard carry from one
column to the next, the lowest-ordered "1"
with a "1" in the corresponding place value
beneath it may be added and a "1" may be
carried to one digit past the end of the
series. The "used" numbers must be
crossed off, since they are already added.
Other long strings may likewise be
cancelled using the same technique. Then,
simply add together any remaining digits
normally. Proceeding in this manner gives
the final answer of 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 12
(164910). In our simple example using
small numbers, the traditional carry
method required eight carry operations,
yet the long carry method required only
two, representing a substantial reduction
of effort.

Addition table
0 1

0 0 1

1 1 10

The binary addition table is similar, but not

the same, as the truth table of the logical
disjunction operation . The difference is
that , while .

Subtraction

Subtraction works in much the same way:

0−0→0
0 − 1 → 1, borrow 1
1−0→1
1−1→0

Subtracting a "1" digit from a "0" digit

produces the digit "1", while 1 will have to
be subtracted from the next column. This
is known as borrowing. The principle is the
same as for carrying. When the result of a
subtraction is less than 0, the least
possible value of a digit, the procedure is
to "borrow" the deficit divided by the radix
(that is, 10/10) from the left, subtracting it
from the next positional value.

* * * * (starred
columns are borrowed from)
1 1 0 1 1 1 0
− 1 0 1 1 1
----------------
= 1 0 1 0 1 1 1

* (starred
columns are borrowed from)
 1 0 1 1 1 1 1
- 1 0 1 0 1 1
----------------
= 0 1 1 0 1 0 0

Subtracting a positive number is

equivalent to adding a negative number of
equal absolute value. Computers use
signed number representations to handle
negative numbers—most commonly the
two's complement notation. Such
representations eliminate the need for a
separate "subtract" operation. Using two's
complement notation subtraction can be
summarized by the following formula:
A − B = A + not B + 1

Multiplication

Multiplication in binary is similar to its

decimal counterpart. Two numbers A and
B can be multiplied by partial products: for
each digit in B, the product of that digit in
A is calculated and written on a new line,
shifted leftward so that its rightmost digit
lines up with the digit in B that was used.
The sum of all these partial products gives
the final result.

Since there are only two digits in binary,

there are only two possible outcomes of
each partial multiplication:

If the digit in B is 0, the partial product is

also 0
If the digit in B is 1, the partial product is
equal to A

For example, the binary numbers 1011 and

1010 are multiplied as follows:

1 0 1 1 (A)
× 1 0 1 0 (B)
---------
0 0 0 0 ←
Corresponds to the rightmost
'zero' in B
 + 1 0 1 1 ←
Corresponds to the next
'one' in B
+ 0 0 0 0
+ 1 0 1 1
---------------
= 1 1 0 1 1 1 0

Binary numbers can also be multiplied

with bits after a binary point:

1 0 1 . 1 0 1
A (5.625 in decimal)
× 1 1 0 . 0 1
B (6.25 in decimal)
 ---------------
----
1 . 0 1 1
0 1 ← Corresponds to a
'one' in B
+ 0 0 . 0 0 0
0 ← Corresponds to a
'zero' in B
+ 0 0 0 . 0 0 0
+ 1 0 1 1 . 0 1
+ 1 0 1 1 0 . 1
-----------------------
----
= 1 0 0 0 1 1 . 0 0 1
0 1 (35.15625 in decimal)
See also Booth's multiplication algorithm.

Multiplication table
0 1

0 0 0

1 0 1

The binary multiplication table is the same

as the truth table of the logical conjunction
operation .

Division

Long division in binary is again similar to

its decimal counterpart.

In the example below, the divisor is 1012,

or 5 decimal, while the dividend is 110112,
or 27 decimal. The procedure is the same
as that of decimal long division; here, the
divisor 1012 goes into the first three digits
1102 of the dividend one time, so a "1" is
written on the top line. This result is
multiplied by the divisor, and subtracted
from the first three digits of the dividend;
the next digit (a "1") is included to obtain a
new three-digit sequence:

1
___________
1 0 1 ) 1 1 0 1 1
− 1 0 1
 -----
0 0 1

The procedure is then repeated with the

new sequence, continuing until the digits
in the dividend have been exhausted:

1 0 1
___________
1 0 1 ) 1 1 0 1 1
− 1 0 1
-----
1 1 1
− 1 0 1
-----
1 0
Thus, the quotient of 110112 divided by
1012 is 1012, as shown on the top line,
while the remainder, shown on the bottom
line, is 102. In decimal, 27 divided by 5 is 5,
with a remainder of 2.

Square root

The process of taking a binary square root

digit by digit is the same as for a decimal
square root, and is explained here. An
example is:

1 0 0 1
---------
 √ 1010001
1
---------
101 01
0
--------
1001 100
0
--------
10001 10001
10001
-------
0

Bitwise operations
Though not directly related to the
numerical interpretation of binary symbols,
sequences of bits may be manipulated
using Boolean logical operators. When a
string of binary symbols is manipulated in
this way, it is called a bitwise operation;
the logical operators AND, OR, and XOR
may be performed on corresponding bits
in two binary numerals provided as input.
The logical NOT operation may be
performed on individual bits in a single
binary numeral provided as input.
Sometimes, such operations may be used
as arithmetic short-cuts, and may have
other computational benefits as well. For
example, an arithmetic shift left of a binary
number is the equivalent of multiplication
by a (positive, integral) power of 2.

Conversion to and from other

numeral systems
Decimal

Conversion of (357)10 to binary notation results in

(101100101)
To convert from a base-10 integer to its
base-2 (binary) equivalent, the number is
divided by two. The remainder is the least-
significant bit. The quotient is again
divided by two; its remainder becomes the
next least significant bit. This process
repeats until a quotient of one is reached.
The sequence of remainders (including the
final quotient of one) forms the binary
value, as each remainder must be either
zero or one when dividing by two. For
example, (357)10 is expressed as
(101100101)2.[31]

Conversion from base-2 to base-10 simply

inverts the preceding algorithm. The bits
of the binary number are used one by one,
starting with the most significant
(leftmost) bit. Beginning with the value 0,
the prior value is doubled, and the next bit
is then added to produce the next value.
This can be organized in a multi-column
table. For example, to convert
100101011012 to decimal:

Prior value × 2 + Next bit Next value

0 ×2+ 1 =1

1 ×2+ 0 =2

2 ×2+ 0 =4

4 ×2+ 1 =9

9 ×2+ 0 = 18

18 × 2 + 1 = 37

37 × 2 + 0 = 74

74 × 2 + 1 = 149

149 × 2 + 1 = 299

299 × 2 + 0 = 598

598 × 2 + 1 = 1197
The result is 119710. Note that the first
Prior Value of 0 is simply an initial decimal
value. This method is an application of the
Horner scheme.

Binary  1 0 0 1 0 1 0
1×210 0×29 0×28 1×27 0×26 1×25 0×24
Decimal 
+ + + + + + +

The fractional parts of a number are

converted with similar methods. They are
again based on the equivalence of shifting
with doubling or halving.

In a fractional binary number such as

0.110101101012, the first digit is , the
second , etc. So if there is a 1
in the first place after the decimal, then the
number is at least , and vice versa.
Double that number is at least 1. This
suggests the algorithm: Repeatedly double
the number to be converted, record if the
result is at least 1, and then throw away
the integer part.

For example, 10, in binary, is:

Converting Result

0.

0.0

0.01

0.010

0.0101

Thus the repeating decimal fraction 0.3...

is equivalent to the repeating binary
fraction 0.01... .

Or for example, 0.110, in binary, is:

Converting Result

0.1 0.

0.1 × 2 = 0.2 < 1 0.0

0.2 × 2 = 0.4 < 1 0.00

0.4 × 2 = 0.8 < 1 0.000

0.8 × 2 = 1.6 ≥ 1 0.0001

0.6 × 2 = 1.2 ≥ 1 0.00011

0.2 × 2 = 0.4 < 1 0.000110

0.4 × 2 = 0.8 < 1 0.0001100

0.8 × 2 = 1.6 ≥ 1 0.00011001

0.6 × 2 = 1.2 ≥ 1 0.000110011

0.2 × 2 = 0.4 < 1 0.0001100110

This is also a repeating binary fraction

0.00011... . It may come as a surprise that
terminating decimal fractions can have
repeating expansions in binary. It is for this
reason that many are surprised to discover
that 0.1 + ... + 0.1, (10 additions) differs
from 1 in floating point arithmetic. In fact,
the only binary fractions with terminating
expansions are of the form of an integer
divided by a power of 2, which 1/10 is not.

The final conversion is from binary to

decimal fractions. The only difficulty
arises with repeating fractions, but
otherwise the method is to shift the
fraction to an integer, convert it as above,
and then divide by the appropriate power
of two in the decimal base. For example:
Another way of converting from binary to
decimal, often quicker for a person
familiar with hexadecimal, is to do so
indirectly—first converting ( in binary)
into ( in hexadecimal) and then
converting ( in hexadecimal) into ( in
decimal).
For very large numbers, these simple
methods are inefficient because they
perform a large number of multiplications
or divisions where one operand is very
large. A simple divide-and-conquer
algorithm is more effective asymptotically:
given a binary number, it is divided by 10k,
where k is chosen so that the quotient
roughly equals the remainder; then each of
these pieces is converted to decimal and
the two are concatenated. Given a decimal
number, it can be split into two pieces of
about the same size, each of which is
converted to binary, whereupon the first
converted piece is multiplied by 10k and
added to the second converted piece,
where k is the number of decimal digits in
the second, least-significant piece before
conversion.

Hexadecimal
0hex = 0dec = 0oct 0 0 0 0
1hex = 1dec = 1oct 0 0 0 1
2hex = 2dec = 2oct 0 0 1 0
3hex = 3dec = 3oct 0 0 1 1
4hex = 4dec = 4oct 0 1 0 0
5hex = 5dec = 5oct 0 1 0 1
6hex = 6dec = 6oct 0 1 1 0
7hex = 7dec = 7oct 0 1 1 1
8hex = 8dec =10oct 1 0 0 0
9hex = 9dec =11oct 1 0 0 1
Ahex =10dec =12oct 1 0 1 0
Bhex =11dec =13oct 1 0 1 1
Chex =12dec =14oct 1 1 0 0
Dhex =13dec =15oct 1 1 0 1
Ehex =14dec =16oct 1 1 1 0
Fhex =15dec =17oct 1 1 1 1

Binary may be converted to and from

hexadecimal more easily. This is because
the radix of the hexadecimal system (16)
is a power of the radix of the binary
system (2). More specifically, 16 = 24, so it
takes four digits of binary to represent one
digit of hexadecimal, as shown in the
adjacent table.

To convert a hexadecimal number into its

binary equivalent, simply substitute the
corresponding binary digits:

3A16 = 0011 10102

E716 = 1110 01112
To convert a binary number into its
hexadecimal equivalent, divide it into
groups of four bits. If the number of bits
isn't a multiple of four, simply insert extra 0
bits at the left (called padding). For
example:

10100102 = 0101 0010 grouped with

padding = 5216
110111012 = 1101 1101 grouped = DD16

To convert a hexadecimal number into its

decimal equivalent, multiply the decimal
equivalent of each hexadecimal digit by
the corresponding power of 16 and add
the resulting values:
 C0E716 = (12 × 163) + (0 × 162) + (14 ×
161) + (7 × 160) = (12 × 4096) + (0 × 256)
+ (14 × 16) + (7 × 1) = 49,38310

Octal

Binary is also easily converted to the octal

numeral system, since octal uses a radix
of 8, which is a power of two (namely, 23,
so it takes exactly three binary digits to
represent an octal digit). The
correspondence between octal and binary
numerals is the same as for the first eight
digits of hexadecimal in the table above.
Binary 000 is equivalent to the octal digit 0,
binary 111 is equivalent to octal 7, and so
forth.
 Octal Binary

0 000

1 001

2 010

3 011

4 100

5 101

6 110

7 111

Converting from octal to binary proceeds

in the same fashion as it does for
hexadecimal:

658 = 110 1012

178 = 001 1112

And from binary to octal:

1011002 = 101 1002 grouped = 548

100112 = 010 0112 grouped with
padding = 238
And from octal to decimal:

658 = (6 × 81) + (5 × 80) = (6 × 8) + (5 × 1)

= 5310
1278 = (1 × 82) + (2 × 81) + (7 × 80) = (1 ×
64) + (2 × 8) + (7 × 1) = 8710

Representing real numbers

Non-integers can be represented by using
negative powers, which are set off from
the other digits by means of a radix point
(called a decimal point in the decimal
system). For example, the binary number
11.012 thus means:
 1 × 21 (1 × 2 = 2) plus
1 × 20 (1 × 1 = 1) plus
0 × 2−1 (0 × 1⁄2 = 0) plus
1 × 2−2 (1 × 1⁄4 = 0.25)

For a total of 3.25 decimal.

All dyadic rational numbers have a

terminating binary numeral—the binary

representation has a finite number of
terms after the radix point. Other rational
numbers have binary representation, but
instead of terminating, they recur, with a
finite sequence of digits repeating
indefinitely. For instance
 = = 0.0101010101…2

= = 0.10110100

10110100 10110100...2

The phenomenon that the binary

representation of any rational is either
terminating or recurring also occurs in
other radix-based numeral systems. See,
for instance, the explanation in decimal.
Another similarity is the existence of
alternative representations for any
terminating representation, relying on the
fact that 0.111111... is the sum of the
geometric series 2−1 + 2−2 + 2−3 + ... which
is 1.
Binary numerals which neither terminate
nor recur represent irrational numbers. For
instance,

0.10100100010000100000100... does
have a pattern, but it is not a fixed-length
recurring pattern, so the number is
irrational
1.011010100000100111100110011001
1111110... is the binary representation
of , the square root of 2, another
irrational. It has no discernible pattern.
See irrational number.

See also
Binary code
 Binary-coded decimal
Finger binary
Gray code
Linear feedback shift register
Offset binary
Quibinary
Reduction of summands
Redundant binary representation
Repeating decimal
SZTAKI Desktop Grid searches for
generalized binary number systems up
to dimension 11.
Two's complement

References
1. Robson, Eleanor; Stedall, Jacqueline, eds.
(2009), "Myth No. 2: the Horus eye
fractions", The Oxford Handbook of the
History of Mathematics , Oxford University
Press, p. 790, ISBN 9780199213122
2. Chrisomalis, Stephen (2010), Numerical
Notation: A Comparative History ,
Cambridge University Press, pp. 42–43,
ISBN 9780521878180.
3. Rudman, Peter Strom (2007), How
Mathematics Happened: The First 50,000
Years , Prometheus Books, pp. 135–136,
ISBN 9781615921768.
4. Edward Hacker; Steve Moore; Lorraine
Patsco (2002). I Ching: An Annotated
Bibliography . Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-
415-93969-0.
5. Redmond & Hon (2014), p. 227.
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Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments,
Inventions, and Discoveries of the 18th
Century . Greenwood Publishing. p. 29.
ISBN 978-0-313-32015-6.
7. Zhonglian, Shi; Wenzhao, Li; Poser, Hans
(2000). Leibniz’ Binary System and Shao
Yong’s ”Xiantian Tu‘‘ in :Das Neueste über
China: G.W. Leibnizens Novissima Sinica
von 1697 : Internationales Symposium,
Berlin 4. bis 7. Oktober 1997 . Stuttgart:
Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 165–170.
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8. Sanchez, Julio; Canton, Maria P. (2007).
Microcontroller programming: the microchip
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10. Binary Numbers in Ancient India
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Further reading
Sanchez, Julio; Canton, Maria P. (2007).
Microcontroller programming: the
microchip PIC. Boca Raton, FL: CRC
Press. p. 37. ISBN 0-8493-7189-9.
 Redmond, Geoffrey; Hon, Tze-Ki (2014).
Teaching the I Ching. Oxford University
Press. ISBN 0-19-976681-9.

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Binary numeral system.

Binary System at cut-the-knot

Conversion of Fractions at cut-the-knot
Sir Francis Bacon's BiLiteral Cypher
system , predates binary number
system.
Leibniz' binary numeral system, 'De
progressione dyadica', 1679, online and
 analyzed on BibNum [click 'à
télécharger' for English analysis]

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