Chapter 1: Bits
The Bit (Flashlight)
At its core, a computer is just a massive collection of switches. The simplest unit of information is a Bit (Binary Digit), which can exist in only one of two states: 1 (ON/True) or 0 (OFF/False).
In hardware, this corresponds to the presence or absence of electrical voltage. By combining millions of these simple on/off states, we can represent complex data like numbers, text, images, and videos.
Codes & Signals (Telegraph)
A single bit (on/off) isn't very useful on its own. To communicate meaningful information, we need Codes. Early communication systems like the Telegraph used time as a variable. By varying the duration of the "ON" state, we can create patterns.
This is similar to how computers send data over a network or to a hard drive—as a stream of high and low voltage pulses over time. Morse Code was an early digital protocol that mapped these pulses to the alphabet.