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Number Theory/Expert Profile
Expertise
Most questions on number theory, divisibility, primes, Euclidean algorithm, Fermat`s theorem, Wilson`s theorem, factorisation, euclidean algorithm, diophantine equations, Chinese remainder theorem, group theory, congruences, continued fractions.
Experience in the area
Teacher of math for 50 years
Organizations
ATL
Publications
Journal of mathematics and its applications
Education/Credentials
BSc Hons Liverpool
Awards and Honors
State Scholarship 1955
Past/Present Clients
I taught John Birt, former Director of the BBC in 1961. His homework book was the most perfect I have ever marked. And also the most neat. I could tell he was destined for great things. One of my classmates was the poet Roger McGough, and I have a mention in his autobiography.
What do you like about this subject?
The variety, and the fact that everyone can participate. Anyone could discover a new largest prime number by joining the Mersenne prime project, using their computer off-line in the background to do masses of calculations.
What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?
I would love to have enough knowledge to completely understand Andrew Wiles's proof of Fermat's last theorem.
Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:
Secure encrypted messaging can be dependent on the difficulty of factorising the product of two large prime numbers.
Something controversial or provocative about this subject
Does the beauty I find in number theory demand a divine creator for the Universe?
Average Ratings
Recent Reviews from Users
K = Knowledgeability C = Clarity of Response P = Politeness| User | Date | K | C | P | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth | 01/16/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thanks for the reply and explanation! |
| Samir | 01/11/12 | 5 | 7 | 10 | |
| Prashant S Akerkar | 11/26/11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Dear Prof Vijilant Thank you. Thanks & ..... |
| Michael | 11/11/11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Very helpful expert, speedy answers and precise ..... |
| Prashant S Akerkar | 11/09/11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Dear Prof Vijilant Thank you. Thanks ..... |
Recent Answers from Vijilant
2012-01-15 Rates:
Hello Kenneth The amount of work that is done is the number of cook-hours. 4*6 cook hours are needed for 8 pies, so each pie needs 4*6/8 cook-hours. When 2*4 cook-hours are available, the number of
2012-01-08 Number Theory:
Hello Samir Once again, it will depend on the values of C and r. And also there will be multiple solutions if we allow A or B or n and m to be 1. You should know that if n = m = r = p where p>2, there
2012-01-06 Number Theory:
Hello Samir Clearly this depends on the value of C. For example, if C = 2, we must have A = B = 1, but n and m may have any values whatsoever. Indeed for any value of C, if we take A = 1, B = C -
2011-11-25 Maths Application Example ?:
Hello Prashant Once again it isn't a number theory question, but these are all permutations of male and female. Not combinations since for example male, female is not the same as female, male. If
2011-11-09 number representation:
Hello Heni Of course. It is very easy. Assuming you are thinking about positive integers, round up log(n)/log(2) to the next integer. For example n = 12. log(12)/log(2) = 3.58... Round up to 4.
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