How come the number 255 is the maximum number used in computers & probably even more
In: 2
It’s not the maximum number used in computers.
What it is is this:
11111111
Computers don’t understand anything but “off” or “on”. “Off” is a “0” and “on” is a “1”.
The way that counting works is that as soon as you have more numbers than fit in the number of digits you’re using, you add a new digit. We’re used to a number system based on 10(the digits 0-9), so when you get past the number “9”, one more than that (which is 10) can’t fit in the number of digits you have, so you have to add another digit.
When you’re talking about how computers count, basically, you count 0, 1, and then two can’t fit, so that goes into the next space. It’s called “binary” or base 2, because every number to the left is worth twice as much as the number to its right.
So in binary, the numbering system computers use, here’s how numbers count:
0 is 00000000
1 is 00000001
2 is 00000010
3 is 00000011
4 is 00000100
5 is 00000101
6 is 00000110
7 is 00000111
8 is 00001000
9 is 00001001
10 is 00001010
11 is 00001011
12 is 00001100
13 is 00001101
14 is 00001110
15 is 00001111
16 is 00010000
and so on.
254 is 11111110
255 is 11111111
255 is a common number you see because it’s the highest number that can be represented in these eight characters in binary. But it’s by no means the highest number that computers can use.
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