Difference between revisions of "Fermat's Last Theorem"
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==History== | ==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. | 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. | ||
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| + | == Books == | ||
| + | * [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385493622/sr=8-3/qid=1151500758/ref=pd_bbs_3/104-4020766-0070359?ie=UTF8 Fermat's Enigma] | ||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
* [[Number Theory]] | * [[Number Theory]] | ||
** [[Diophantine equation]]s | ** [[Diophantine equation]]s | ||
| + | * [[Andrew Wiles]] | ||
Revision as of 08:19, 28 June 2006
Fermat's Last Theorem is a long-unproved theorem stating that for 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.
