binary number

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

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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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