binary number

British  

noun

1. a number expressed in binary notation, as 1101.101 = 1 × 2³ + 1 × 2² + 0 × 2 ¹ + 1 × 2 ⁰ + 1 × 2 ^{– 1} + 0 × 2 ^– ² + 1 × 2 ^– ³ = 13 5/ 8

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Example Sentences

Over the span of a few seconds, a robot would dance in a herky-jerky fashion, programmed so that its stops and starts would spell out as a binary number the temperature in degrees Celsius.

From Science Magazine

We can undoubtedly assign a binary number to a neuron that has either fired "1" or not "0."

From Salon

The gist of the reason for this is that while a string of N ordinary bits can encode a single N digit binary number, a string of N qubits can encode all of the N digit binary numbers at the same time, allowing a quantum computer to perform many operations in parallel.

From Scientific American

Here’s where that limit comes from: If you want to get a message made up of the bits “1" or “0" to your friend a light-year away and all you have is a single photon, you can encode that single binary number into the photon and send it whizzing off toward your friend at light speed.

From Scientific American

But by developing the binary number system, a way of representing numerical information using zeroes and 1s, he became the father of all computer coding.

From Slate