🕵️‍♂️ How Computers "Hide" a Minus Sign: The 2's Complement Trick

Ever wondered how a computer stores a negative number? It doesn't have a tiny "minus" symbol inside the hardware. 🤖 Instead, it uses a clever mathematical ritual called Two’s Complement . The "Flip and Add" Recipe 🍳 If you want to store -5 in an 8-bit char , the computer doesn't just put a sign in front. It follows these three steps: Start with the Positive: Write 5 in binary $\rightarrow$ 00000101 Flip the Bits: Change every 0 to 1 and every 1 to 0 $\rightarrow$ 11111010 Add 1: Add a binary 1