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The fundamental theorem of arithmetic dissected

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

Ahmet G. Agargün  and
Colin R. Fletcher
Ahmet G. Agargün
Affiliation:
Yildiz Teknik Üniversitesi, Istanbul, Turkey
Colin R. Fletcher
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth SY23 3BZ
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Extract

There are hints of unique factorisation in Greek arithmetic. Indeed, some commentators have seen the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic (FTA), that the natural numbers can be expressed as products of primes in a unique way, lurking in Euclid’s Elements (c. 300BC). What can be said with certainty is that the history of the FTA is strangely obscure. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that the result passed from being unknown to being obvious without a proof passing through the head of any mathematician.

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Type
Articles
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The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 81 , Issue 490 , March 1997 , pp. 53 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 1997

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