142857 - My Pet Number - Comments and Discussion

142857 - Number theory, classroom projects, exploration, and activities surrounding an unusual number with mysterious properties.

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142857 - My Pet Number - Comments and Discussion

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My Pet Number - 142857, published in Directory : Mathematics : Fun With Numbers.

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Humphrey Nowlin wrote on Feb 25, 2005	quote options
You said that you've found some larger numbers (ie, the one with so many digits it has every 4-digit combination in it) that do the same thing as your pet number 142857. How in the WORLD do you go about getting those numbers? -edited by Humphrey Nowlin on Feb 25, 2005
zaphod wrote on Feb 27, 2005	quote options
the special and unique feature that makes 142857 work this way is that it is the repeating portion of ¹/₇, and it has six (7 minus 1) digits. so look for integers x such that ¹/_x repeats every (x - 1) digits. one example is ¹/₁₉ = 0.052631578947368421... ²/₁₉ = 0.105263157894736842... and so on.
Humphrey Nowlin wrote on Mar 10, 2005	quote options
I'm guessing it would be helpful if I was a software developer, huh?
Douglas Twitchell wrote on Dec 1, 2005	quote options
In case you missed it, I've added a "142857 calculator" to my Online Playground. Link: 142857 Calculator
Tharcide wrote on Mar 6, 2007	quote options
Quote the special and unique feature that makes 142857 work this way is that it is the repeating portion of ¹/₇, and it has six (7 minus 1) digits. so look for integers x such that ¹/_x repeats every (x - 1) digits. one example is ¹/₁₉ = 0.052631578947368421... ²/₁₉ = 0.105263157894736842... and so on.[/quote Untrue. Try 1/13 0.076923076923076923... 769230 overlaps with 153846 when doing the multiplication thing though. (compare 1/26)

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