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  • About 75 min
  • 10 steps · 2 quizzes

Binary: How Computers Store Everything

A hands-on first look at how a computer stores everything — numbers, text, colours, pictures and sound — as patterns of 0s and 1s. No maths beyond adding.

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10 steps · 2 quizzes · about 75 minutes · open any step

  1. A bit is a switchStart hereA computer is built from billions of tiny switches. Each one is either off or on — we write that as 0 or 1. One switch is called a bit. Try it: switch the bulbs on and off. How many different patterns can four switches make?InteractiveHands-on · 6 min
  2. Counting in binaryIn everyday numbers each place is worth 10× the one to its right: 1, 10, 100… In binary each place is worth 2×: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16… A 1 means "count this place", a 0 means "skip it". Try it: press +1 a few times and watch the carries ripple. Then take a challenge.InteractiveHands-on · 6 min
  3. Every extra bit doublesEach new bit can be 0 or 1, so it doubles the number of patterns: n bits make 2ⁿ patterns. Try it: slide from 1 to 5 bits and watch the list copy itself. Then go up to 16 and switch the chart to a log scale.InteractiveHands-on · 6 min
  4. Bytes, kilobytes, gigabytes8 bits make a byte — enough for one English letter. Bigger sizes go up in steps of about 1,000InteractiveHands-on · 6 min
  5. Check: bits and bytesQuiz · 4 questions
  6. Adding — and running out of roomBinary adds just like a sum on paper, with one new fact: 1 + 1 = 10 (write 0, carry 1). Try it: add 13 + 11 column by column. Then try 200 + 100.InteractiveHands-on · 6 min
  7. Text is numbers tooEvery character has an agreed number: A is 65, a is 97, a space is 32. The list that covers every language and every emoji is called Unicode. The usual way to store it, UTF-8, uses 1 byte for English letters and 2–4 bytes for everything else.InteractiveHands-on · 6 min
  8. Colours are three bytesA screen pixel mixes red, green and blue light. Each gets one byte (0–255), so one colour is 3 bytes. Web designers write those bytes in hex (base 16), like #FF8C00. Try it: mix yellow from red and green light. Then make a grey.InteractiveHands-on · 6 min
  9. Pictures are grids of numbersA picture is a grid of pixels, and every pixel is stored as bits: 1 bit for black and white, 24 bits (3 bytes) for full colour. Try it: load the heart, then switch to colour and watch the size jump.InteractiveHands-on · 11 min
  10. Sound is thousands of samplesSound is a wave. To store it, the computer measures the wave many times a second (samples) and saves each measurement as a number (bits per sample). Try it: start with few samples and 1–2 bits, then raise both.InteractiveHands-on · 6 min

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