Number Theory

Fermat wrote his famous "Last Theorem" in the margin of a book some time in the late 1630s. He said that the equation xⁿ + yⁿ = zⁿ has no solutions in whole numbers if n is greater than 2. Mathematicians have been trying to prove or disprove this theorem for centuries. Princeton University professor Andrew J. Wiles apparently had proved it correct but later flaws were found in his proof. By late 1994 Wiles thought the flaws had been solved. Wiles announced in June 1992 that he had proved Fermat right. However, it will take several years before other mathematicians will be able to verify Wiles's proof.