Abstract
What is so special about numbers 10 and 2 that decimal and binary systems are the most widely used? One interesting fact about 10 is that when we start with a unit interval and we want to construct an interval of half width, then this width is exactly 5/10; when we want to find a square of half area, its sides are almost exactly 7/10, and when we want to construct a cube of half volume its sides are almost exactly 8/10. In this paper, we show that 2, 4, and 10 are the only numbers with this property—at least among the first billion numbers. This may be a possible explanation of why decimal and binary systems are the most widely used.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Reference
Knuth, D.E.: The Art of Computer Programming. Addison-Wesley Professional, Boston, MA (2011)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Muela, G., Kosheleva, O. (2020). Why Decimal System and Binary System Are the Most Widely Used: A Possible Explanation. In: Ceberio, M., Kreinovich, V. (eds) Decision Making under Constraints. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, vol 276. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40814-5_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40814-5_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-40813-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-40814-5
eBook Packages: Intelligent Technologies and RoboticsIntelligent Technologies and Robotics (R0)