number theory
nounDefinition of number theory
: the study of the properties of integers
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Examples of number theory in a Sentence
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For reasons mathematicians don’t fully understand, these two lattices crop up in one area of mathematics after another, from number theory to analysis to mathematical physics. — Quanta Magazine, "Out of a Magic Math Function, One Solution to Rule Them All," 13 May 2019 In particular, mathematicians had to construct a very advanced combination of number theory and geometry. — Quanta Magazine, "The Subtle Art of the Mathematical Conjecture," 7 May 2019 Arithmetic progressions are involved in the study of prime numbers, the elusive building blocks of number theory. — Eugenia Cheng, WSJ, "Holidays Are for Counting," 5 Dec. 2018 Over the past century, however, some arcane theorems from 18th-century number theory (that is, the study of whole numbers) were used to dream up one of the most powerful modern encryption systems. — Eugenia Cheng, WSJ, "Secret Codes Built on Very Large Numbers," 3 Oct. 2018 Gauss -- whose full name is Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss -- made significant contributions to many fields of mathematics and science, including algebra, number theory, differential geometry, geophysics, magnetic fields and optics. — Taylor Weatherby, Billboard, "Google Doodle Honors Late Mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss on His 241st Birthday," 30 Apr. 2018 Wu said cybersecurity and cryptography can benefit from his work because much of it is based on prime numbers and number theory. — Erin B. Logan, Washington Post, "She’s a champion science student. But she loves history. What should she do?," 6 May 2018 The English mathematician is arguably best known for cracking Fermat’s Last Theorem​, a 358-year-old number theory, in 1995. — Janice Williams, Newsweek, "Smartest Person Alive? Paul Allen And 4 Others That Could Be After Stephen Hawking's Death," 14 Mar. 2018 Astronomy and number theory should properly be viewed as quantitative kin to, say, theology and art history. — Deirdre N. Mccloskey, WSJ, "Economics With a Human Face," 13 Sep. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'number theory.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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