7.3: Unusual Number systems
( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)
Dualtown Number System
The peoples of Dualtown use only numbers which are 1 and some of the multiples of 2 (even numbers). E=\{1, 2, 4, 6,8 \cdots\}. Notice that the set E is closed under multiplication.
Let's construct a 4 \times 4 multiplication table E.
\times | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
4 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 24 |
6 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 36 |
The smallest ten prime numbers in Dualtown are 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30, 34, 38. Notice that 36=(6)(6)=(2)(18). Thus 36 has two different Dualtown prime factorizations. Hence the Prime Divisibility Theorem does not hold for the Dualtown number system.