Select a category to see how binary numbers can be interpreted:
As a Grayscale Pixel
Binary: 10101010
Grayscale value: 170 (out of 255)
This binary number represents a medium gray pixel.
In 8-bit grayscale, this binary number translates to a decimal value between 0 (black) and 255 (white).
Each bit in the binary number represents a power of 2. This system allows 256 shades of gray to be represented with just 8 bits.
As a Color Component (Green)
Binary (Green component): 10101010
RGB: (0, 170, 0)
This binary number represents the green component in this RGB color.
In the RGB color model, this value is being used for the green channel, while red and blue remain at 0.
24-bit color uses 8 bits each for red, green, and blue, allowing for 16,777,216 possible colors using just three bytes of data.
As Text (ASCII)
Binary: 10101010
ASCII character: ª
Decimal value: 170
This binary number represents a character in ASCII encoding.
ASCII uses 7 bits to represent 128 characters. Values above 127 fall into the extended ASCII range.
Extended ASCII, which uses all 8 bits, allows for 256 characters, including special symbols and characters from other languages.
ASCII Chart: The Digital Alphabet
Null characterCTRL 0
Start of HeadingCTRL 1
Start of TextCTRL 2
End of TextCTRL 3
End of TransmissionCTRL 4
EnquiryCTRL 5
AcknowledgmentCTRL 6
BellCTRL 7
BackspaceCTRL 8
Horizontal TabCTRL 9
Line FeedCTRL 10
Vertical TabCTRL 11
Form FeedCTRL 12
Carriage ReturnCTRL 13
Shift OutCTRL 14
Shift InCTRL 15
Data Link EscapeCTRL 16
Device Control 1CTRL 17
Device Control 2CTRL 18
Device Control 3CTRL 19
Device Control 4CTRL 20
Negative AcknowledgmentCTRL 21
Synchronous IdleCTRL 22
End of Transmission BlockCTRL 23
CancelCTRL 24
End of MediumCTRL 25
SubstituteCTRL 26
EscapeCTRL 27
File SeparatorCTRL 28
Group SeparatorCTRL 29
Record SeparatorCTRL 30
Unit SeparatorCTRL 31
␠ 32
! 33
" 34
# 35
$ 36
% 37
& 38
' 39
( 40
) 41
* 42
+ 43
, 44
- 45
. 46
/ 47
0 48
1 49
2 50
3 51
4 52
5 53
6 54
7 55
8 56
9 57
: 58
; 59
< 60
= 61
> 62
? 63
@ 64
A 65
B 66
C 67
D 68
E 69
F 70
G 71
H 72
I 73
J 74
K 75
L 76
M 77
N 78
O 79
P 80
Q 81
R 82
S 83
T 84
U 85
V 86
W 87
X 88
Y 89
Z 90
[ 91
\ 92
] 93
^ 94
_ 95
` 96
a 97
b 98
c 99
d 100
e 101
f 102
g 103
h 104
i 105
j 106
k 107
l 108
m 109
n 110
o 111
p 112
q 113
r 114
s 115
t 116
u 117
v 118
w 119
x 120
y 121
z 122
{ 123
| 124
} 125
~ 126
DeleteCTRL 127
ASCII, born in 1963, became computing's universal language. It uses 7 bits to represent 128 characters.
The first 32 numbers (0-31) are control characters for behind-the-scenes tasks.
The rest (32-127) are the visible characters you type.
Hover over the control characters to learn their specific purposes.
By the 1980s, 128 characters weren't enough. Extended ASCII used an 8th bit to add 128 more characters (128-255).
Numbers 128-159 are additional control characters.
160-255 brought in characters like é, ñ, and ╔═══╗ for international text and simple drawings.
Hover over the control characters to see their purposes. Note that different systems may interpret these differently.
In Audio
Binary: 10101010
Frequency: 540 Hz
This binary number could represent part of an audio waveform.
In digital audio, this might represent the amplitude of a sound wave at a specific moment.
8-bit audio uses values from 0 to 255 to represent sound wave amplitude. The pattern of bits affects the tone's frequency and timbre.