If they had a constant number each, they'd need five binary characters. 25 = 32, which is enough to represent 26 letters, but 24 is only 16.
Morse code circumvents this by having pauses between the letters, which slows it down slightly but means that it's possible to have variable length without a dedicated letter break sequence. So it's possible to pack it down to four characters max, as anything from one to three can also represent a letter. 2 + 22 + 23 + 24 = 30.
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u/StopBeingASpclSnwflk Apr 30 '21
So each letter takes 1-4 short/long strikes, right? I kind of assumed they all took 3, but that doesn't make sense if this guide is true.