flip-flop

computer science

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 26, 2026

Quick Summary

A flip-flop, in computer science, is an electronic circuit with two stable states. It can switch between these states in response to electrical pulses. This capability makes flip-flops fundamental building blocks in digital electronics and computers, where they are used to store binary information (0s and 1s).12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

computer memory
Semiconductor memory
Static RAM (SRAM) consists of flip-flops, a bistable circuit composed of four to six transistors. Once a flip-flop stores a bit, it keeps that value until the opposite value is stored in it. SRAM gives fast access to data, but it is physically relatively large. It is used primarily for…
Read More
Static RAM (SRAM) consists of flip-flops, a bistable circuit composed of four to six transistors. Once a flip-flop stores a bit, it keeps that value until the opposite value is stored in it. SRAM gives fast access to data, but it is physically relatively large. It is used primarily for…
Read More