system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How do computers use binary code?

I understand the basic layer of computation: computers work in binary signals (basically electricity/no electricity). 

But, what do they do with these signals? To what are they translated if so? What is the 'next layer'?
gpt
The basic structure of a computer is the transistor. It's basically a switch that when it's turned on, it allows current to flow from the input to the output. The real power of transistors comes when you start wiring them together. Now, the output of one transistor can go to the control of another. That means that when you turn on transistor 1, it turns on transistor 2.

By combining multiple transistors in specific ways, you can build simple logic circuits. For example, an AND circuit has two or more inputs and will only turn on if all of the inputs are turned on. An OR circuit will turn on if any of the inputs are turned on.

From basic logic gates you can build calculation circuits. These will take numbers (in the form of binary) and add, subtract, multiply or divide them. These are the basic building blocks of performing useful operations on a computer. From there it's just building more and more complex circuits that perform more specialized functions. 

But, since the inputs and outputs are either on or off, 1 or 0, everything works in binary.