Least significant bit
In computing, the least significant bit (LSB) is bit zero of a binary number. This bit represents the number of ones in the number. By extension, the least significant bits (plural) are the bits of the number closest to bit zero.
The least significant bits have the useful property of changing rapidly if the number changes even slightly. For example, if 1 (binary 00000001) is added to 3 (binary 00000011), the result will be 4 (binary 00000100) and three of the least significant bits will change (011 to 100). By contrast, the three most significant bits stay unchanged (000 to 000).
Least significant bits are frequently employed in pseudorandom number generators, hash functions and checksums.
See also
