Difference between revisions of "Fermat's Last Theorem"
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| − | '''Fermat's Last Theorem''' is a long-unproved theorem stating that for integers <math>\displaystyle a,b,c,n</math> with <math>n \geq 3</math>, there are no solutions to the equation: <math>\displaystyle a^n + b^n = c^n</math> | + | '''Fermat's Last Theorem''' is a long-unproved [[theorem]] stating that for non-zero [[integers]] <math>\displaystyle a,b,c,n</math> with <math>n \geq 3</math>, there are no solutions to the equation: <math>\displaystyle a^n + b^n = c^n</math> |
==History== | ==History== | ||
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== Books == | == Books == | ||
| − | * [http://www.amazon.com/ | + | * [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385493622/artofproblems-20 Fermat's Enigma] |
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
Revision as of 14:20, 29 June 2006
Fermat's Last Theorem is a long-unproved theorem stating that for non-zero integers 
with 
, there are no solutions to the equation: 
History
Fermat's last theorem was proposed by Pierre Fermat in the margin of his book Arithmetica. The note in the margin (when translated) read: "It is impossible for a cube to be the sum of two cubes, a fourth power to be the sum of two fourth powers, or in general for any number that is a power greater than the second to be the sum of two like powers. I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition that this margin is too narrow to contain." Despite Fermat's claim that a simple proof existed, the theorem wasn't proven until Andrew Wiles did so in 1993. Interestingly enough, Wiles's proof was much more complicated than anything Fermat could have produced himself.
