Numb3rs blog !!!

Descobri um blog criado por professores do Departamento de Matemática da Universidade de Northeastern em Boston só para comentar e explicar referências matemáticas que surgem na série da TV, "Numb3rs". O blog fará 2 anos em 3 de Fevereiro e continua em plena actividade.
Muito interessante! Vou passar a ver ... a série e o blog.

Por exemplo, a propósito de números e criptografia:
Prime numbers, as you probably know, are whole numbers that can't be divided evenly or exactly by any other whole numbers ... BUT it is very hard to break down a large number into its prime components or factors. For example, try finding the primes that multiply to give 3763. And 3763 is just a 4-digit number...
Secure Internet transactions as well as all sorts of encoded bank transfers etc. are based on the fact that it is nearly impossible, even with high-speed computers, to find the primes that divide, say 200-digit numbers. Anyway, there's a mathematical object called the zeta function that is very closely related to primes. Many things are known about this function, which was invented in the 18th century by the great Swiss mathematician Leonard Euler... On the other hand, one of the most important things about this function, exactly which numbers make it zero, is still not known. Bernard Riemann (1826 - 1866) made a guess, called the "Riemann Hypothesis", ... Check out Devlin's book if you want a correct and relatively easy-to-understand explanation of the Riemann Hypothesis and its relation to message encoding (and background into the other important mathematics problems of this new century). If you know some calculus and want a deeper understanding of why the zeta function and Riemann's work is so important, pick up a copy of "Prime Obsession" by John Derbyshire (Joseph Henry Press).