Binary Place Value Counter
Click any bit switch or use the controls below to discover how positional base-2 notation forms numbers.
Decimal (Base 10)
0
Binary (Base 2)
00000000
Hexadecimal (Base 16)
0x00
Active Bits (Sum)
0 of 8 bits
How Binary Place Values Work
In standard decimal (Base-10), each place value is a power of 10 ($10^0=1, 10^1=10, 10^2=100$). Binary (Base-2) works identically, but place values double with each step to the left ($2^0=1, 2^1=2, 2^2=4$, etc.).
Bit State: 0 vs 1
A bit is an on/off switch. When '1', add its place weight to the total sum.
Byte Capacity
An 8-bit byte can represent $2^8 = 256$ distinct combinations (0 through 255).
Powers of 2
$128 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 255$. All bits ON equals the maximum value.