Significands and The Hidden Bit
When working in binary, the significand is characterized by its width in binary digits (bits). Because the most significant bit is always 1 for a normalized number, this bit is not typically stored and is called the "hidden bit". Depending on the context, the hidden bit may or may not be counted towards the width of the significand. For example, the same IEEE 754 double precision format is commonly described as having either a 53-bit significand, including the hidden bit, or a 52-bit significand, not including the hidden bit. The notion of a hidden bit only applies to binary representations. IEEE 754 defines the precision, p, to be the number of digits in the significand, including any implicit leading bit (e.g. precision, p, of double precision format is 53).
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Famous quotes containing the words hidden and/or bit:
“Lap me in soft Lydian airs,
Married to immortal verse,
Such as the meeting soul may pierce
In notes with many a winding bout
Of linked sweetness long drawn out,
With wanton heed and giddy cunning,
The melting voice through mazes running,
Untwisting all the chains that tie
The hidden soul of harmony;”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“We will get everything out of her that you can squeeze out of a lemon and a bit more.... I will squeeze her until you can hear the pips squeak.”
—Eric, Sir Geddes (1875–1937)