Bin
A bin is an enclosed receptacle, such as a box, frame, crib, or container, primarily used for the storage of bulk materials including grain, coal, flour, fruit, or other loose items.[1][2] In British English, the term commonly denotes a can or container specifically for household trash or garbage, often called a dustbin.[1] Bins vary in design and purpose, ranging from simple open-top waste receptacles to lidded storage units for foodstuffs like bread (bread bin) or industrial bulk boxes for shipping and warehousing.[3] Their defining characteristics include durability for repeated use, capacity for volume, and adaptability to contexts like recycling, litter collection, or resource management, with modern variants incorporating features for odor control and sanitation.[4]Physical Containers
Waste and Trash Bins
Waste and trash bins, also referred to as rubbish bins or garbage cans, are enclosed or open-topped containers designed for the temporary containment of solid waste, preventing litter dispersal while awaiting collection for disposal, recycling, or incineration. These receptacles vary in capacity from small indoor units holding a few liters to large industrial dumpsters exceeding 10 cubic meters, constructed to withstand handling by manual labor or mechanized equipment. Their primary function is to segregate waste from living spaces, reducing health risks from pathogens and odors, as evidenced by sanitation improvements in urban areas following mandatory bin usage in 19th-century Europe. The origins of standardized waste bins trace to ancient practices of open dumping, but formalized containers emerged in the late 19th century amid urbanization and public health reforms. In 1884, Eugène Poubelle, prefect of the Seine department in Paris, mandated that households use lidded ash bins for waste storage and separation, fining non-compliance to curb street dumping and disease spread; this policy introduced the term "poubelle" in French for trash bin. Early 20th-century bins in Britain and the U.S. were often improvised metal containers like biscuit tins or galvanized steel pails, suited for coal ash and organic refuse prevalent before widespread electricity reduced ash volume. By the 1950s, medium-sized galvanized metal bins became standard in British households, typically 2-3 feet tall with handles for manual emptying into collection carts.[5][5] A shift from metal to plastic occurred post-World War II, driven by metal's susceptibility to rust, denting, and noise during dragging, alongside plastic's corrosion resistance, lighter weight (reducing collector injury rates), and lower production costs via injection molding. The first plastic wheelie bin, featuring wheels and a hinged lid for mechanical tipping, was developed in 1968 by a British engineer for factory use, enabling efficient curbside collection; by the 1980s, plastic models dominated residential applications in Europe and North America. In the U.S., the Dempster-Dumpmaster system introduced rear-loading metal dumpsters in 1935, evolving into standardized plastic or composite variants for commercial sites. Materials today include high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for durability against UV exposure and chemicals, stainless steel for fire resistance in public spaces, and composites blending fiberglass with polymers for corrosion-proof industrial use; plastic bins comprise over 70% of residential markets due to recyclability and moldability into ergonomic shapes.[6][7] Types encompass residential curbside bins (e.g., 55-gallon lidded plastic models in U.S. cities like New York for post-6 PM setout), commercial indoor units with step pedals for hygiene, outdoor park receptacles to deter animal scavenging, and industrial roll-off containers for construction debris. Standards such as ANSI Z245.60 specify dimensions for interoperability with lifters, ensuring 96-gallon wheeled bins fit automated trucks without spillage. Recycling variants use color coding—blue for metals/plastics, green for organics—to promote source separation, with California's regulations mandating distinct containers since 2022 to meet organic diversion targets. Innovations include sensor-equipped "smart" bins that signal fill levels via IoT for optimized routes, reducing fuel use by up to 30% in fleet trials, though adoption remains limited to high-density urban pilots as of 2024.[8][9][10]Storage and Organizational Bins
Storage bins, also known as organizational bins or totes, are rigid containers primarily designed to hold, sort, and protect a variety of items such as tools, parts, clothing, or documents, facilitating efficient space utilization and retrieval in residential, commercial, and industrial environments.[11] These bins typically feature open tops or lids, stackable designs, and modular sizing to maximize storage density, with capacities ranging from small units holding under 1 liter to large industrial models exceeding 100 liters.[12] Unlike flexible bags or sacks, bins provide structural support to prevent contents from spilling or deforming, making them suitable for shelving systems where stability is essential.[13] Common materials for storage bins include injection-molded polypropylene or polyethylene plastics, valued for their durability, resistance to moisture and chemicals, and low weight—often under 1 kg per unit for household sizes—allowing easy handling and recyclability under standards like those for post-consumer resin content.[14] Alternative materials encompass galvanized steel for heavy-duty applications, wire mesh for ventilation in perishable goods storage, and corrugated plastic or cardboard for temporary or low-cost solutions, though plastics dominate due to production scalability, with global output tied to the broader containers and packaging sector generating over 80 million tons annually across materials like plastics and paperboard.[15] Manufacturing often adheres to guidelines in ISO 53.080 for storage equipment, emphasizing load-bearing capacity and interoperability in racking systems, though household bins may prioritize consumer safety over formal certification.[16] Types of storage bins vary by function: clear plastic lidded totes enable visual inventory checks and dust protection for seasonal items like holiday decorations; divided compartment bins organize small hardware such as screws or electronics components in workshops; and collapsible bulk bins, often fabric-reinforced, expand for warehouse overflow storage before folding flat to reclaim 70-80% of floor space.[12] In warehouse operations, bins integrate with automated picking systems, reducing retrieval time by up to 30% through labeled, ergonomic designs that accommodate forklifts or conveyor feeds.[13] For home organization, modular bin systems fit closet or garage shelving, with stackability supporting vertical storage heights of 2-3 meters without collapse under typical loads of 20-50 kg per bin.[17] The modern prevalence of plastic storage bins traces to post-World War II advancements in thermoplastic molding, building on early 20th-century inventions like polyvinyl chloride in 1926, which enabled mass-produced, airtight containers by the 1950s for food and general storage.[18] Industrial adoption surged in the 1960s with designs for reusable pails and totes, coinciding with warehouse efficiency drives that emphasized modular containment over wooden crates, though environmental critiques highlight plastics' persistence, with only 9% recycled in the U.S. packaging stream as of recent EPA data.[19][15]Industrial and Specialized Containers
Industrial bins, distinct from general storage or waste variants, are engineered for high-volume handling of raw materials, components, or bulk goods in sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics. Constructed primarily from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), fiberglass-reinforced plastic, or steel, these containers prioritize durability, stackability, and resistance to corrosion or impact, with capacities ranging from 1 to 5 cubic meters or more depending on design.[20][21] Bulk bins, a primary subtype, facilitate efficient storage and transport of granular or powdered substances such as grains, chemicals, or resins, often featuring integrated pallets for forklift compatibility and optional liners for containment.[22] In agricultural applications, ventilated bulk bins with capacities up to 2,000 liters support aeration to prevent spoilage, as evidenced by their use in seed and feed handling.[22] Specialized bins extend functionality for niche industrial needs, including conductive or antistatic variants made from carbon-filled polypropylene to mitigate electrostatic discharge risks in electronics assembly, where static can damage sensitive semiconductors.[23] These ESD-safe bins typically measure 8 to 24 inches in length and include features like embedded grounding paths, adhering to standards such as IEC 61340 for controlled environments.[23] In automotive and aerospace manufacturing, heavy-duty reusable bulk bins—often 48x45 inches in footprint—enable closed-loop logistics, reducing waste through returnable designs that withstand repeated cycles of up to 50 uses before degradation.[24] Intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), frequently classified as bin totes, handle liquids or solids in volumes of 275 to 330 gallons, with caged metal exteriors for hazardous material compliance under UN/DOT regulations, minimizing spillage risks via valve systems and secondary containment capabilities.[25] Applications in warehousing emphasize modularity, with nestable or collapsible bins optimizing space utilization; for instance, straight-wall totes nest to save up to 85% volume when empty, supporting just-in-time inventory systems.[26] Empirical data from industrial suppliers indicate that adopting such bins can reduce handling costs by 20-30% through improved ergonomics and reduced packaging needs, though selection must account for load-bearing limits—typically 1,000 to 4,000 pounds per unit—to avoid structural failure.[27] Maintenance involves periodic inspection for cracks or UV degradation in plastic models, ensuring longevity in exposed settings.[28]Abbreviations and Acronyms
Bank Identification Number (BIN)
The Bank Identification Number (BIN), also known as the Issuer Identification Number (IIN), comprises the initial six to eight digits of a payment card's primary account number (PAN), serving to uniquely identify the issuing financial institution or entity.[29][30] This numbering system enables payment processors and networks to route transactions accurately to the correct issuer for authorization.[29] The structure follows the ISO/IEC 7812 standard, where the first digit represents the Major Industry Identifier (MII)—for instance, 4 designates banking and financial services, while 3 indicates airlines and other non-financial travel entities—followed by digits specifying the issuer and, in extended eight-digit BINs, additional sub-identifiers for product types or regions.[29][31] Originally limited to six digits to accommodate a finite pool of issuers, the BIN framework faced exhaustion as card issuance proliferated; in response, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) amended ISO/IEC 7812 in 2016 to support eight-digit BINs, providing capacity for over 100 million unique identifiers and accommodating growth in non-bank issuers like fintech firms.[32][33] The American Bankers Association (ABA) administers assignments in the United States, ensuring no overlaps and compliance with global standards.[31] Although the term "bank" persists from an era when most cards were bank-issued, BINs now apply to debit, credit, prepaid, and charge cards from diverse providers.[30] In payment processing, BINs facilitate transaction routing by directing authorization requests through networks like Visa or Mastercard to the issuer, who verifies funds and approves or declines based on account status.[29] They also support fraud prevention: acquirers analyze BIN patterns to flag anomalies, such as cards issued in high-risk countries or mismatched with transaction locations, enabling real-time risk scoring.[30][34] Merchants leverage BIN data for interchange fee calculations, as certain BIN ranges correlate with premium cards incurring higher fees, and for binning transactions by issuer type to optimize acceptance rates.[35] Databases of BINs, maintained by organizations like the ABA, allow lookups for attributes including card brand (e.g., Visa BINs starting with 4), country of issuance, and prepaid status, enhancing compliance with standards like PCI DSS, which adapted to eight-digit BINs by 2022 to avoid processing disruptions.[36][37]Other Technical and Linguistic Abbreviations
In computing, "BIN" commonly abbreviates "binary," referring to files or directories containing executable programs, device drivers, or other machine-readable data in binary format, consisting of sequences of bytes each eight bits long.[38] The "/bin" directory in Unix-like operating systems stores essential binary executables required for system booting and basic operations, such as command-line utilities.[39] This usage derives from the distinction between human-readable text files and compiled binary code, with ".bin" file extensions often denoting raw binary images for software distribution or disc images.[40] In linguistics, particularly within African American English (AAE), "BIN" denotes a grammatical marker for remote past or habitual actions, distinct from standard English past tense forms; for example, "He BIN working" indicates ongoing or repeated past activity rather than recent completion.[41] This feature, analyzed through syntactic, semantic, and phonetic lenses, exhibits variability in realization, including vowel quality and prosodic effects, and is not merely a contraction of "been" but a specialized aspectual element supported by empirical studies of AAE speech patterns.[42] Usage of BIN correlates with non-standard verb forms and is more prevalent in certain phonological contexts, reflecting deeper structural properties of AAE rather than surface-level reductions.[41]People
Individuals with "Bin" as Surname or Given Name
Won Bin (born November 10, 1977), a South Korean actor, first gained widespread recognition in 2000 for his leading role in the KBS television series Autumn in My Heart, marking his transition from modeling to acting prominence.[43] He starred in notable films including Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (2004), a war drama that drew over 11 million viewers in South Korea, and Mother (2009), for which he won the Grand Bell Award for Best Actor.[43] Won largely withdrew from acting after 2009 to prioritize family life following his marriage, though he has made occasional public appearances and endorsements.[44] Bin Furuya (born July 5, 1943), a Japanese actor and suit performer, is renowned for originating the role of Ultraman in the 1966–1967 tokusatsu series Ultraman, where he provided the physical portrayal in the suit for all 39 episodes, contributing to the character's enduring popularity in the franchise.[45] His career spans kaiju films and special effects productions, including appearances in Toho's Godzilla series, and he has reprised Ultraman roles in later entries, such as Ultraman: The Next (2004), maintaining involvement in events and voice work into the 2020s.[46] Émile Bin (February 10, 1825 – September 4, 1897), a French artist with the surname Bin, specialized in portraiture, mythological paintings, and watercolors, exhibiting works at the Paris Salon starting in the 1850s.[47] Notable pieces include The Death of Orpheus (1874), an oil painting depicting the mythological scene, and he also engaged in politics as a deputy.[48] His oeuvre reflects 19th-century academic art traditions, with pieces held in collections like Harvard Art Museums.[49]Figures with "Bin" in Patronymic Names
In Arabic and Malay patronymic traditions, "bin" serves as a connector meaning "son of," linking an individual's given name to their father's or ancestor's name, often extending to multiple generations in fuller forms. This element is integral to names in regions influenced by Islamic culture, distinguishing lineage without implying a fixed surname. Notable figures bearing "bin" in this context include political leaders, militants, and historical commanders whose full names reflect such conventions.[50] Osama bin Laden (full name: Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden; born March 10, 1957; died May 2, 2011) was a Saudi national who founded al-Qaeda in 1988, orchestrating attacks including the September 11, 2001, assaults on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people.[51][52] His patronymic traces descent from his father, Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, a Yemeni-born construction magnate who amassed wealth through contracts with the Saudi royal family.[50] Mohammed bin Salman (full name: Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud; born August 31, 1985) is the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia since 2017, effectively directing the kingdom's policies on economic diversification via Vision 2030 and foreign affairs, including the Yemen intervention starting in 2015.[53][54] His name's "bin" denotes sonship to King Salman bin Abdulaziz, emphasizing royal lineage within the Al Saud family.[55] Mahathir bin Mohamad (born July 10, 1925), a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020, implemented policies fostering rapid industrialization and infrastructure growth, such as the Petronas Towers completed in 1998.[56] His patronymic "bin Mohamad" follows Malay custom, where Mohamad is his father's given name, reflecting non-hereditary lineage common in Southeast Asian Muslim naming.[57]Places
Settlements and Villages Named Bin
Bin is a small village located in Mazandaran Province, Iran, situated in the northern part of the country near the Caspian Sea. Another settlement named Bin exists in Fars Province, Iran, in the southwestern region known for its historical and archaeological sites.[58] These Iranian villages represent the most instances of the name within a single country, reflecting local toponymy possibly derived from Persian linguistic roots, though etymological details remain sparsely documented in geographic records. In West Africa, Bin is a village in the Koulikoro Region of Mali, positioned along the Niger River basin, an area characterized by rural agrarian communities.[58] Similarly, a village called Bin lies in the Banwa Province of Burkina Faso, in the southwest near the border with Mali and Côte d'Ivoire, within the Sahelian savanna zone supporting subsistence farming.[58] Further afield, Bin appears as a settlement in Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea, in the northwestern highlands bordering Indonesia, amid diverse terrain including rainforests and mountainous areas inhabited by indigenous groups. These disparate locations illustrate the independent emergence of the name "Bin" across continents, likely coincidental rather than indicative of shared historical migration, with no evidence of cultural or linguistic connections among them. Global geographic databases confirm five such settlements across four countries, underscoring the rarity of the exact name for human habitations.[58]Other Geographical or Administrative Locations
Bin County (宾县; Bīnxīan), also romanized as Binxian, constitutes a county-level administrative division in Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China, falling under the governance of Harbin, the provincial capital and a sub-provincial city. Established during the early Republican era, it spans approximately 3,761 square kilometers and supports agricultural activities centered on grain production and livestock, with a 2020 population estimated at around 450,000 residents primarily engaged in farming amid the region's cold continental climate.[59] In Yemen, Dhi Bin District (مديرية ذيبين) operates as a rural administrative district within 'Amran Governorate, located in the northern highlands near the Saudi border, characterized by mountainous terrain suitable for terrace farming and pastoralism. Recorded with a population of 30,799 in the 2003 estimate, the district features scattered villages and wadis, contributing to the governorate's economy through limited agriculture and remittances, though data remains sparse due to ongoing regional instability.[60] Bincheng District (滨城区) serves as the central urban administrative district of Binzhou, a prefecture-level city in Shandong Province, eastern China, bordering the Bohai Sea and encompassing industrial zones focused on petrochemicals and machinery manufacturing. Covering about 1,438 square kilometers with a 2020 population exceeding 800,000, it functions as the economic hub of the prefecture, leveraging Yellow River irrigation for agriculture alongside port-related trade via nearby Dongying.Science and Mathematics
Data Binning and Statistical Applications
Data binning, also termed discretization or bucketing, is a preprocessing method that groups continuous numerical values into a finite set of discrete intervals, or bins, to mitigate minor observational errors and simplify subsequent analysis. Each bin represents a range of values, often summarized by a representative statistic such as the midpoint or mean, thereby converting the data into a categorical or ordinal form suitable for statistical modeling.[61][62] This approach reduces the dimensionality and cardinality of datasets, particularly useful when dealing with high-precision measurements prone to noise.[63] Two primary unsupervised binning techniques predominate: equal-width binning and equal-frequency binning. In equal-width binning, the overall data range is divided into intervals of identical length, irrespective of the underlying distribution density; for instance, values from 0 to 100 might be split into five bins of width 20 each (0-20, 20-40, etc.).[61][64] Equal-frequency binning, conversely, partitions the sorted data such that each bin contains approximately the same number of observations, adapting to skewness by varying interval widths; this ensures balanced representation across bins but may produce uneven ranges in non-uniform distributions.[61][65] These methods trade off information preservation—equal-width risks empty bins in sparse regions, while equal-frequency may over-smooth dense areas—but both enhance robustness to outliers compared to raw continuous inputs.[65] In statistical applications, binning underpins histogram construction for empirical distribution visualization, where bin counts approximate probability densities and reveal modalities, skewness, or multimodality in datasets.[66] It facilitates non-parametric density estimation by providing a discretized foundation for kernel smoothing or empirical cumulative distribution functions, aiding inference without assuming parametric forms.[67] Binning also supports data smoothing in exploratory analysis, reducing variance from measurement noise while preserving trends, as seen in time-series aggregation or spatial data clustering.[68] In regression and classification contexts, binned predictors enable piecewise constant approximations, improving interpretability in models like splines or decision rules, though excessive binning can induce stepwise artifacts or loss of granularity.[69] Further applications extend to causal discovery and phylogenomics, where binning aggregates gene tree estimates to refine species tree topologies, minimizing stochastic errors from incomplete lineage sorting; statistical binning here outperforms uniform methods by weighting intervals based on data density, yielding more accurate branch length estimates.[70] However, binning introduces potential biases, such as ecological fallacy in aggregated inferences or violations in causal graphs if discretization masks nonlinear dependencies, as simulations demonstrate degraded performance in constraint-based algorithms without sufficient bins.[71] Optimal bin selection remains empirical, often balancing bias-variance via cross-validation or rules minimizing integrated squared error, underscoring binning's utility tempered by its sensitivity to arbitrary choices.[67]Prefixes and Combinatorial Terms
In combinatorics, the term "binomial" derives from the Late Latin binomius, meaning "having two names" or referring to expressions with two terms, and it forms the basis for key concepts involving selections and expansions.[72] The binomial coefficient, denoted \binom{n}{k}, quantifies the number of distinct ways to select k elements from a set of n elements without regard to order, serving as a foundational element in counting problems.[73] This coefficient appears in the binomial theorem, which expands (x + y)^n = \sum_{k=0}^{n} \binom{n}{k} x^{n-k} y^k, linking algebraic identities to combinatorial interpretations such as the number of paths in a grid or subsets in Pascal's triangle.[74] Historically, binomial coefficients emerged in probabilistic contexts, as seen in the 17th-century correspondence between Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat on the "problem of points," where they modeled dividing stakes in interrupted games using combinatorial counts equivalent to binomial terms.[74] Isaac Newton's generalization of the binomial theorem to non-integer exponents in the 1660s extended its scope beyond positive integers, enabling series expansions that underpin modern analytic combinatorics, though early formulations relied on integer-based combinatorial reasoning.[75] Related terms include "binominal," a variant synonymous with binomial in mathematical usage, and "binate," denoting occurrences in pairs, which occasionally appears in enumerative contexts like paired structures in graph theory or species theory.[76] These terms emphasize duality—selecting or partitioning into two categories—contrasting with multinomial generalizations for more than two. Empirical verification of binomial identities, such as \binom{n}{k} = \binom{n}{n-k}, follows from symmetry in selection processes, provable via factorial definitions \binom{n}{k} = \frac{n!}{k!(n-k)!} or recursive relations like Pascal's identity \binom{n}{k} = \binom{n-1}{k-1} + \binom{n-1}{k}.[73]Computing and Technology
File Systems and Directories
In Unix-like operating systems, the/bin directory serves as a standard location in the root filesystem for essential binary executables that support basic system functionality, including commands required during booting, emergency repairs, and single-user mode.[77] According to the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS), it houses programs such as cat, ls, and date, which must remain accessible even if other filesystems like /usr are unmounted.[77] These binaries are distinguished from those in /usr/bin, which contain non-essential user commands that can be mounted later in the boot process.[78] The term "bin" derives from "binary," reflecting the executable machine code format of these files.[77]
Files with the .bin extension represent binary data stored in a non-text format, consisting of sequences of bytes interpretable by hardware or software rather than human-readable characters.[38] Commonly used for disk images, firmware updates, and raw application data, .bin files lack a standardized internal structure and require specific tools—like emulators for ROMs or mounting software for ISO-like images—for access and manipulation.[79] In embedded systems and microcontroller programming, .bin files often hold compiled firmware that is flashed directly onto hardware, emphasizing their role in low-level data transfer without additional metadata.[79]
The Recycle Bin in Microsoft Windows functions as a system-level directory that temporarily holds files and folders marked for deletion, preventing immediate permanent removal from the filesystem and allowing user recovery.[80] Introduced with Windows 95 on August 24, 1995, it operates per-drive, storing items in hidden subfolders (e.g., $Recycle.Bin) with metadata tracking original paths and deletion times, while the actual data remains intact until explicitly emptied or space limits are exceeded.[81] This mechanism relies on the underlying NTFS filesystem for redirection rather than true erasure, consuming disk space equivalent to the deleted content until purged.[80] Similar "trash" directories exist in other systems, such as macOS's ~/.Trash, but Windows' Recycle Bin exemplifies a filesystem-integrated recovery layer dating back to its FAT32-era implementations.[81]