Overview: 7 Les Houches Number theory, or arithmetic, sometimes referred to as the queen of mathematics, is often considered as the purest branch of mathematics. It also has the false repu tation of being without any application to other areas of knowledge. Nevertheless, throughout their history, physical and natural sciences have experienced numerous unexpected relationships to number theory. The book entitled Number Theory in Science and Communication, by M.R. Schroeder (Springer Series in Information Sciences, Vol. 7, 1984) provides plenty of examples of cross-fertilization between number
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