What Does Least Significant Bit Mean?
In computing, the least significant bit is the bit which is farthest to the right and holds the least value in a multi-bit binary number. As binary numbers are largely used in computing and other related areas, the least significant bit holds importance, especially when it comes to transmission of binary numbers.
Techopedia Explains Least Significant Bit
Digital data is computed in binary format, and similarly to numerical notation, the right digit is considered the lowest digit whereas the leftmost is considered the highest digit. Due to the positional notation, the least significant bit is also known as the rightmost bit. It is the opposite of the most significant bit, which carries the highest value in a multiple-bit binary number as well as the number which is farthest to the right. In a multi-bit binary number, the significance of a bit decreases as it approaches the least significant bit. Since it is binary, the most significant bit can be either 1 or 0.
When a transmission of binary data is done with the least significant bit first technique, the least significant bit is the one which is transmitted first, followed by other bits of increasing significance. The least significant bit is frequently employed in hash functions, checksums and pseudorandom number generators.
