Column

  1. Math

    Turtle Tracks

    One way to describe a geometric figure is in terms of the path generated by a moving point. Instead of defining a square, for example, as a four-sided polygon with equal sides and angles, you can call it the path generated by the following rule: Go straight for a distance s, turn 90 degrees right, […]

    By Ivars Peterson
  2. Math

    Cracking Fermat Numbers

    Fermat numbers have what mathematicians sometimes describe as a “beautiful mathematical form,” involving powers of 2. They were of interest 400 years ago and are now the subject of a wide-ranging worldwide computer search. A Fermat number has the form 22n + 1, where n is a whole number equal to or greater than 0.