I was playing around with numbers the other day, and I found an interesting symmetry, that I would like to know if it has any specific name assigned to it.
Let's assume the notation n:a to refer to any number whose modulus n=a. That is, which if written with an n-radixed numeral system, would have a least significant digit of a. (If anyone knows the standard notation for expressing this, feel free to add that info.)
We can then write 10:3×10:7=10:1, because if we multiply any two integers with least significant decimals of 3 and 7 respectively, then the result will always have a least significant decimal of 1, for example:
33×77=2541103×97=999173×37=2701
We can also write 10:310:7=10:9, because if we divide a number with least significant decimal of 3, by a number with least significant decimal of 7, then (given that it is evenly divisible), the result will always have a last decimal of 9. For example:
774387=89108357=1933537=479
So far, nothing weird is going on. However, the strange thing starts to happen if we use certain radixes, for example 24 instead of 10, then
(24:17×24:23)=(24:1724:23)=(24:2324:17)=24:7
Let us simplify the above a bit, and write it as:
24:((17×23)=1723=2317=7)
Let us try to test the truthness of this. By creating the numbers 24:17 and 24:23, and multiplying them, we can test if the product =24:7.
If 24:(2317=7), then 24:((17×7)=23), and if 24:(1723=7), then 24:((7×23)=17). In order to test the above expression, let us therefore multiply the numbers:
- 24:17 and 24:23 (the result should be 24:7)
- 24:23 and 24:7 (the result should be 24:17)
- 24:17 and 24:7 (the result should be 24:23)
For this demonstration I will only do the multiplication once for each of the three types, above, but of course one can try as many combinations of numbers with 24-moduluses specified above that one feels is sufficient to convince oneself that it is always true.
A number that equals 24:17, that is, which has a 24-modulus of 17, must have the form 17+24×x, where x is any arbitrary integer. We can use the same method to create arbitrary numbers with any specific modulus. For this test, let's let x=0. Let us use these arbitrary numbers with moduluses 17, 7 and 23:
17+0×24=177+0×24=723+0×24=23
Then let us examine if there is a symmetry between the result of them being multiplied and divided by one another.
17×7=11911924=4+2324
The above shows that 24:(2317=7)
23×7=16116124=6+1724
The above shows that 24:(1723=7)
17×23=39139124=16+724
The above shows that 24:((17×23)=7)
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