27 Jan
2007
27 Jan
'07
11:07 a.m.
In the December 2006 issue of Am. Math. Monthly , Filip Saidak presents "A New Proof of Euclid's Theorem." Here's a concise rendition: Let f(x) = x^2 + x, let g[0] be a positive integer, and for n = 1, 2, 3, ..., let g[n] = f(g[n-1]). Then g[n] has at least n different prime factors. I omit the proof for those who might enjoy working it out for themselves. The case of g[0] = 1 seems somewhat canonical. I'm curious about which primes appear as factors in the sequence of g[n] (2, 6, 42, 1807, ...). This sequence begins: 2, 3, 7, 13, 43, 73, 139, 181, 547, 607, 1033, 1171, ... Paul