Monday, 17 June 2013

Wilson's theorem

An elegant result in number theory - English mathematician John Wilson stated this theorem:

A positive integer p > 1 is prime if and only if

(− 1)! ≡ −1 (mod p).

The proof of Wilson's theorem can be found here, which also shows how Wilson's theorem can be applied to prove Fermat's little theorem, together with some neat examples.