How does data get organised to be stored or sent serially? Matt Godbolt explains some of the encoding used in old devices like floppy disks. nb At around 10:45 the illustration is inaccurate - when it show the binary numbers, the binary numbers actually occur at a switch of magnetic flux direction rather than being a result of the direction of the flux. Computerphile is supported by Jane Street. Learn more about them (and exciting career opportunities) at: This video was filmed and edited by Sean Riley. Computerphile is a sister project to Brady Haran's Numberphile. More at