Visualizing SHA-256: Cloud Hash One (of three) visualizes Bitcoin's SHA-256 hash algorithm as cloud animations. Designed by the NSA, the SHA-256 algorithm creates a unique fingerprint of any text or file mathematically. In the animation, the input image in the centers turns in 70 degrees intervals, and the hash algorithm creates entirely different iterations and output hashes. To make the Cloud Hash tokens as distinct as their hashes (and prints), I teamed up with Colorado-based audio engineers Alex Scott and Callum Bair to create three entirely different sound ambiences for each. /// Cloud Hashes - Deconstructed:
I deconstruct some of my SHA-256 algorithm references in a blog post: https://ostachowski.com/cloud-hashes-visualization/. The algorithm starts in the center and works towards the outer ring, generating an actual SHA-256 hash. The different stages of the hash functions are represented in the rings in between. In the first step, the hashing algorithm splits the inputimage into its fundamental parts. The algorithm converts the input to binary code and pads it with additional bits to comply with its specified length to operate further. The compression algorithm then mathematically slices, stretches,shuffles and scatters the data iteratively. Even the slightest change to the initial input image drastically changes the result of each iteration. This desirable effect is called the avalanche effect. In the last step, the algorithm converts the binary code to the hexadecimal numeral system (base-16). The 16 segments in this ring representthe possible value of 0-9 and A to F. The hexadecimal format is a format humans interact with since itis substantially shorter. The outer ring shows the real SHA-256 hash. Sixty-four blocks build the 64 alphanumerical characters of the outputhash. Each blockconsists of4 binary bits, which allow precisely 16possible values. To better visualize the hexadecimal value, I created a font based on this grid of 16.
