# Fermat's Theorem **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 24, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989 "2011-05-24T05:58:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/61 "2011-05-26T20:05:46Z")
If you don’t want to tell us precisely what your conjecture is, then there’s no point having any discussion… ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/62 "2011-05-26T20:14:38Z")
Have you ever seen an equation that sets restrictions on how many numbers with exponents are needed to reach another number with the same exponent? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/63 "2011-05-26T20:15:20Z")
> [@mla1](#): > > Have you ever seen an expansion on fermat? What do you mean by “expansion”? It seems like you’re just talking about basic Diophantine equations. [Here](http://mathworld.wolfram.com/DiophantineEquation2ndPowers.html)’s a description of 2nd power Diophantine equations. A related equation that is quite familiar to number theory students is [Pell’s equation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pell_equation). Perhaps you’ve run into it? Similar “expansions” were studied before, during, and after Fermat’s time. They were, after all, all specific forms of a type of equation posed by Diophantus several centuries earlier. ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/64 "2011-05-26T20:20:06Z")
No it is very different. ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/65 "2011-05-26T20:21:22Z")
the theory i have I think (and this is my opinion) a lot more complex ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/66 "2011-05-26T20:28:10Z")
The equation Im thinking of has an unlimited number of terms ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/67 "2011-05-26T20:38:23Z")
No need to multi-post. Just stated the darned theorem and have done with it. No need to be coy. Otherwise, there’s no point in you posting anything in this thread at all. ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/68 "2011-05-26T20:40:55Z")
x^n=w1^n+w2^n+w3^n+ . . . wn-p^n ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/69 "2011-05-26T20:41:59Z")
p\> or p= 0 ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/70 "2011-05-26T20:50:13Z")
has anyone here seen that before or have an example where i’m wrong? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/71 "2011-05-26T20:53:13Z")
What is your conjecture? That there is an integer solution of x for every n? Or something else? ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/72 "2011-05-26T20:56:48Z")
yep as long as n is natural number greater than 1. ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/73 "2011-05-26T21:01:58Z")
suddenly you all stop saying it isn’t original ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/74 "2011-05-26T21:08:16Z")
So, if I have this correctly, you’re saying there’s a way (in positive integers) to express a sum of m many nth powers as an nth power, whenever m \<= n? ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/75 "2011-05-26T21:10:24Z")
if n\>1 and p=0 or is p\>0 x always has a positive, real,ration,whole answer ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/76 "2011-05-26T21:13:44Z")
Real, rational, or whole? Those are three different things. ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/77 "2011-05-26T21:14:34Z")
nope if it is whole it is rational and real. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/78 "2011-05-26T21:14:50Z")
I assume they mean (redundantly) all three. I don’t know why they leave out n = 1, when that case is trivially possible as well… ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/79 "2011-05-26T21:16:22Z")
23 =15+16 that two terms and the power is one therefore it doesn’t. Only from 2. ---
**Author:** ![mla1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@mla1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mla1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fermats-theorem/582989/80 "2011-05-26T21:17:26Z")
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