Click bits to toggle 0/1 · Watch carry propagate · See binary, hex, decimal results
An interactive visualisation of an 8-bit ripple-carry adder — the fundamental building block of every CPU's arithmetic logic unit. Toggle bits, watch carries propagate, and see binary, hexadecimal and decimal results update live.
How a full adder computes sum and carry-out from two input bits and a carry-in, then chains eight stages together so each carry ripples to the next. The critical path through the carry chain determines the adder's maximum clock speed.
Click individual bits of A and B to toggle them on or off. Watch the carry chain flash through all 8 stages. Read the final result in binary, hex and decimal below the circuit.
The ripple-carry adder is the simplest binary adder design, but its O(n) carry propagation limits speed. Modern CPUs use carry-lookahead or Kogge–Stone adders that compute all carries in O(log n) time.