Ancient Numbers Theory Puzzle Solved
Mathematicians have found a way to solve for an infinite number of new solutions to a very old number theory puzzle known as Euler’s Diophantine equation: A4B4C4+D4 = (A + B + C + D)4. Euler’s Diophantine equation was first studied by the ancient Greek mathematician Diophantus, and there were previously only 88 known solutions to it, mostly consisting of very large numbers. The question was whether there was a way to find proof an infinite number of solutions to this puzzle. Mathematician Daniel J. Madden and retired physicist Lee W. Jacobi found their solution by rewriting the equations to describe a family of elliptical curves. Each set of curves describing a new solution creates a seed for solving any subsequent solutions. Their article, "On a4 + b4 +c4 +d4 = (a + b + c + d)4" is published in the March issue of American Mathematical Monthly.
Similarly tagged OmniNerd content:
- Advanced Crypto Present in Flame, by VnutZ 11 months ago
- John Nash Letters Declassified, by VnutZ about 1 year ago
- Mathematics of Pancake Flipping, by VnutZ over 1 year ago
- Blu-Ray Content Vulnerable, by VnutZ over 2 years ago


Add a Comment
Email This
Statistics
Print Friendly
Write an Article