The binary system, also known as base two, counts in chunks of two. As an example, let's count this collection of asterisks: Using the base 10 counting system, we'd express this number as five (5).

In the late 1930s, Claude Shannon showed that by using switches that close for "true" and open for "false," it was possible to carry out logical operations by assigning the number 1 to "true" and 0 ...

Unlike our everyday counting system that uses tens, binary uses just two numbers, 0 and 1. Learn more with BBC Bitesize. Suitable for KS3 students.