Simon Singh's Numbers Episodes Available now
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1729 - The first taxicab number—A Further Five Numbers
1729 is the smallest number you can write as the sum of two cubes, in two different ways.
G - The number that defines the universe—A Further Five Numbers
Newton's equation of gravity includes a number G, indicating the strength of gravitation.
Six degrees of separation—A Further Five Numbers
Six is often treated as 2x3, but has many characteristics of its own.
Two - At the double—A Further Five Numbers
Doubling is a form of exponential growth, which appears in population growth and inflation
One - The most popular number—A Further Five Numbers
One is the most popular number, as it appears more often than any other number.
Game Theory—Another Five Numbers
When 3G phone licences were sold, game theory was used to boost proceeds for the Treasury.
Kepler's Conjecture—Another Five Numbers
Is the 'face-centred cubic lattice' the most efficient way of stacking spheres?
The Largest Prime—Another Five Numbers
Can large prime numbers be used to form the basis of more secure encryption codes?
The Number Seven—Another Five Numbers
Are 7 shuffles sufficient to achieve a good degree of randomness in a deck of 52 cards?
The Number Four—Another Five Numbers
Are 4 colours enough to paint any map, so neighbouring countries have different colours?