• Poach@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    2 个月前

    Is that why all digital computers use binary?

    This may actually be an example of where a word’s meaning had changed over time. Not sure of the etymology.

    Some random dictionary has “one of the elements that combine to form numbers in a system other than the decimal system” as one of the definitions.

    I spent way too long trying to prove something there…

    • bdonvr@thelemmy.clubEnglish
      51·
      2 个月前

      I think it’s because they use discrete numbers instead of varying voltages in analog systems. There have been digital computers built that use base 3.