▲ 94 ▼ Bit flips: How cosmic rays grounded a fleet of aircraft (www.bbc.com) submitted 11 months ago by undead_falco@programming.dev to c/technology@lemmy.world 11 comments fedilink hide all child comments
[+] Devial@discuss.online 11 points 11 months ago (1 child) [removed by mod] permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 1 child comment replies: [–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip -4 points 11 months ago those states are represented by binary numbers. The states represent binary numbers, not the other way around. https://www.britannica.com/technology/bit-communications A bit is a binary digit. That's what "bit" is an abbreviation for. That is, it's either a 1 or a 0. It's a logical thing, not a physical thing. It's a unit of information. The embodiment of that bit is the physical state of a certain tiny, addressable chunk of silicon. And there could be any of several other embodiments: the position of toggle switches, chalk marks on a board, pits on a metallic surface in a DVD, voltage in a wire at a particular time. The particular embodiment is an engineering choice that is distinct from the information itself. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip -4 points 11 months ago those states are represented by binary numbers. The states represent binary numbers, not the other way around. https://www.britannica.com/technology/bit-communications A bit is a binary digit. That's what "bit" is an abbreviation for. That is, it's either a 1 or a 0. It's a logical thing, not a physical thing. It's a unit of information. The embodiment of that bit is the physical state of a certain tiny, addressable chunk of silicon. And there could be any of several other embodiments: the position of toggle switches, chalk marks on a board, pits on a metallic surface in a DVD, voltage in a wire at a particular time. The particular embodiment is an engineering choice that is distinct from the information itself. permalink fedilink source parent