Introduction
Having a fair knowledge of electronic signals, Raju and Gopu showed abundant satisfaction in gaining the basic facts in the digital technique; they are ready to move forward in acquiring further skills in understanding digital techniques. They wanted to move on to the next topic, ‘Binary systems in digital electronics.’
In this post, we are going to learn the basics of digital electronics with special reference to Binary systems.
I intend to cover the following topics in this post, namely.
- Basics of the Binary System
- What is the Binary system
- Why is binary in digital electronics
- Binary Arithmetic
- Logic Gates and Boolean Algebra
- Binary code and data description
- Applications of binary systems
- Conclusion
Basics of the Binary System
The basic foundation of digital electronics is the Binary system. The binary logic is the core functioning that depends on the basic principle that is employed in computers, smartphones and any digital device you take. In this post, we will discuss all about binary systems-what are they? How does it work? and its importance in the field of digital electronics. Both Raju and Gopu acknowledged that they have very primitive knowledge of this in the curriculum.
What is the Binary System?
A binary system is basically the number system. The binary system uses two digits only, namely ‘0’ and ‘1’. You may be aware that the decimal system uses ten digits, namely ‘0 to 9.’ This is the basic difference between the binary and the decimal system. Digital electronics use this binary system in a very simple way. There exist only two definite states, namely either ‘off’ or ‘on.’ This exactly corresponds to ‘0’ and ‘1’.
Gopu felt a bit difficult in understanding the crucial points in the binary systems subject. I assured him of explaining it in a simpler and easy to understand way as the discussions elaborate.
Why is Binary in Electronics?
Electrical signals that are actually ‘digital signals’ run or operate the digital electronics. The exact state of the signals is either ‘low or high’. ‘Low’ represents ‘off’ state and high represents ‘on’ state. As such, these two states are perfectly suited to binary representation.
Conclusion:
0: Represents a low voltage or off state.
1: Represents a high voltage or on state.
The binary state ensures the performance for digital circuits that can process, store and transmit information efficiently and trustworthily.
Binary Arithmetic
Now, we will discuss the binary arithmetic of the digital techniques to get a clear understanding. We can say that the mathematical foundation for the digital operation is binary arithmetic. In decimal system, we have additions, subtractions, multiplications and divisions as binary arithmetic. Similarly in digital systems, too the binary arithmetic has operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Uniquely these digital systems perform arithmetical operations using only 0s and 1s.
You may be surprised to know the simple rules that are followed in the binary ‘addition’ as follows. The illustration given here gives a very clear picture of the binary arithmetic of digital systems.
0 + 0 = 0
0 + 1 = 1
1 + 0 = 1
1 + 1 = 10 (which is equivalent to 2 in decimal)
‘Adders’ are an important component in processors and memory systems. Binary arithmetic is used in various digital circuits, such as adders.
Now Gopu felt a bit of better understanding on the subject. I am happy to learn it from him that the discussions are fruitful to meet his needs.
Logic Gates and Boolean Algebra
Logic gates are the basic building blocks of digital circuits. Digital circuits are framed based on the appropriate logic gates. There are many types of logic gates in the system. Each type carries out specific functions in the setups. AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR, and XNOR are the important logic gates. We are going to study them in-depth individually in our coming posts. This is an important aspect in digital techniques. Each gate performs a specific logical operation based on binary inputs. It is noteworthy to understand that the output is always in binary form.
The binary systems are specifically and closely related to Boolean algebra. Boolean algebra is nothing but a branch of mathematics that deals with binary variables and logical operations. In fact, logic gates are based on Boolean algebra. As such, logic gates and Boolean algebra discussions take a pivotal role in studying digital techniques.
Gopi asked, “Can you give me some examples for these logic gates with reference to Boolean algebra?”
In response to my answer, the following are a few illustrations of logic gates.
AND gate – if both inputs are 1, then the outputs are 1
OR gate – if at least one input is 1, then the outputs are 1
NOT gate – 0 input becomes 1, and 1 input becomes 0, inverts the input; the output is always the opposite of the input.
These three logic gates can be combined to create complex digital circuits. The complex digital circuits carry out multiple tasks like arithmetic operations, data storage, and signal processing. In fact, complex digital circuits are built with a combination of logic gates. We are going to discuss those in detail in our future posts.
Binary Code and Data Representation
Data may consist of numbers, text, images and even audio. These are the various constituents of data. As such, they are represented in binary code in digital electronics. As an illustration, the following examples may be considered for better understanding.
Numbers: In order to process and store numbers in digital systems, all decimal numbers are converted into a binary state.
Text: ASCII or Unicode is used as binary codes to represent the Text characters. Each and every character is assigned with a unique binary code.
Images and Audio: Both images and audios are first digitised and then stored as binary data. Then the data are processed and managed by the digital systems. Data can be easily processed by digital devices as they are ensured by binary coding. The binary coding permits precise data transmission as well as storage.
Learn more about Binary coded Decimals by reading this post.
Applications of Binary Systems in Digital Electronics
Binary systems are used in almost every aspect of digital electronics, including:
- Computers: CPUs and memory use binary logic to perform calculations and store data.
- Communication Systems: Data transmission over networks, such as the Internet, is done in binary form.
- Digital Displays: Binary data is used to control pixels in digital displays, enabling the rendering of images and videos.
- Embedded Systems: Microcontrollers in devices like smartphones, cameras, and home appliances use binary logic to perform specific tasks.
Conclusion
From the foregoing discussion, one can be assured that binary systems are the backbone of digital electronics. The modern technology relies on simplicity, reliability and efficiency of binary systems. Hence, it is important to know the role of binary systems in the field of digital electronics.
Both Raju and Gopu are now clear about the basics of binary systems in digital electronics.
In our next tutorial section we intend to discuss on the role of BCD in digital electronics. A crucial topic with regard to digital electronics.
