In the past, experts developed calculating machines that worked with three digits, a ternary system, that they hoped would ...

Our usual system is called decimal, or base 10, and counts in chunks of 10. The binary system, also known as base two, counts in chunks of two. As an example, let's count this collection of asterisks: ...

But for numbers 20 through 80, they used a binary system, with separate, one-word terms for 20, 40 and 80. For really large numbers, they used powers of 10 up to at least 10 million.

But for numbers 20 through 80, they used a binary system, with separate, one-word terms for 20, 40 and 80. For really large numbers, they used powers of 10 up to at least 10 million.

The use of binary numbers date back to ancient Egypt, but it was 17th-century philosopher and mathematician, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who created the current binary number system used today.