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Freeman Dyson Problem v2

Here is the solution to a problem solved almost instantly by Freeman Dyson, as reported in a New York Times Magazine story March 29, 2009. For more information, see my blog http://peterashmathedblog.blogspot.com.

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peterash
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230 views

Freeman Dyson Problem v2

Here is the solution to a problem solved almost instantly by Freeman Dyson, as reported in a New York Times Magazine story March 29, 2009. For more information, see my blog http://peterashmathedblog.blogspot.com.

Uploaded by

peterash
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Freeman Dyson Problem

This shows that the problem that appears in the NYT Magazine Article on Freeman
Dyson has an 18-digit solution as claimed by Dyson.

Suppose n is an r-digit numeral and we apply a transformation f that moves a, the last
digit of r, to the front of the numeral. We want to find n such that f (n ) = 2n . Then
n−a
f (n ) = a ⋅ 10r + , and the equation f (n ) = 2n can be solved for n to give
10
a (10 r +1 − 1)
n=
19
It follows from Fermat’s Little Theorem that the smallest value of r for which 10r+1 − 1 is
divisible by 19 is 18. The smallest value of n that provides a solution is generated by
r = 18, a = 2, namely n = 105263157894736842. (Thank you, Maple).

Here is a problem which sounds almost the same, but has no solution:

Suppose n is an r-digit numeral and we apply a transformation f that moves a, the first
digit of r, to the end of the numeral. We want to find n such that f (n ) = 2n . This problem
is easier, and the solution is at the bottom of the page:

We can write f (n ) = 10 ( n − a ⋅ 10r ) + a , and the equation f (n ) = 2n reduces to


(1) (10 r +1
− 1) a = 8n
Since 10r+1 − 1 is odd, and a is a one-digit number, a = 8. Then divide both sides of (1) by
8 to get n = 10 r +1 − 1 . Since all digits of n are 9, a = 9, a contradiction.

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