Work?
MINER ~ A specialized node that both confirms transactions and
issues new bitcoins.
Bitcoin miners are specialized computers. They direct lots of
computing power (hashrate) in a digital lottery to guess a
number that will satisfy the current difficulty algorithm,
thereby 'mining' a 'block' (a piece of the ledger).
The mined block is timestamped and added to the blockchain (also
known as the time chain).
DIFFICULTY ALGORITHM ~ A special, adaptive design that helps keep
new bitcoin issuance predictable.
This was one of Satoshi's innovations to prevent the issuance of
new bitcoins from becoming uncontrollable as more powerful
computers were developed.
As more miners join the network, the target number (nonce) in
the lottery decreases, making it harder to find a winning
number.
If fewer miners join the network, the lottery becomes easier.
The algorithm adjusts the difficulty every 2016 blocks
(approximately every two weeks) to ensure that new bitcoins are
issued at a steady rate.
NONCE ~ A 32-bit random number
Miners try to find a nonce that, when combined with the block's
header, produces a hash below the target difficulty.
If a miner finds a nonce that produces a hash below the target
difficulty, they have successfully mined a block and are
rewarded with bitcoins.