Memory
A valve or switch stays on or off when you turn it or switch it. It “remembers” its last position. Similarly, we can make memory circuits which remember their last setting (on or off, high or low).
Each individual memory circuit is called a memory cell. We can use a memory cell for each position in a number. Then a row of cells can “remember” a number.
One kind of memory cell that can be set high or low is called a flip-flop. A flip-flop can thus remember a “1” or a “0” (i.e., one bit of information). The information in the cells is called the state of the machine. Whenever one or more bits changes, the machine state changes.
A row of flip-flops is called a register and can hold eight bits (a byte) or more. A word may be anywhere from ...
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