On the right is a photo of Doug Jardine in his Sukhoi, a Russian built plane designed specifically for big time aerobatic competition. Note the wing walker holding the wing against the wind. The wind was 20 knots gusting to 25 knots directly across the runway. The plane is described as magenta and white but I think it's pink and white.Brilliant numbers...
I had never heard of this class of numbers until I stumbled across it on the Internet. Brilliant numbers were coined by Peter Wallrodt and are defined as positive integers with exactly two prime factors of the same digital length (in decimal notation). For example,
123467 = 311 * 397
is a brilliant number since both of its prime factors have exactly three digits. Also
9785471483 = 98621 * 99223
is a brilliant since it has exactly two factors with five digits each.
The reason this class of numbers is important is that they often turn up in cryptographic settings and are used to test the current capabilities of prime factoring software, since the problem of factoring large numbers is considered computationally difficult. That is, no one knows a quick and easy way to break a number down into its prime factors (and large brilliant numbers are the most difficult of all since they have only two prime factors of equal decimal length). It's like two prime numbers for the price of one.
For more on brilliant numbers go to google, do not pass go do not collect $200. I've never heard of them before.
Brilliant numbers are proof that we're all on this flight together.
Dick
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