Bitcoin explained: Here's everything you need to know - CNET

How does one 'mine' Bitcoin?

A person (or group, or company) mines Bitcoin by doing a combination of advanced math and record-keeping. Here's how it works. When someone sends a Bitcoin to someone else, the network records that transaction, and all of the others made over a certain period of time, in a "block." Computers running special software -- the "miners" -- inscribe these transactions in a...