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Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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Interesting stuff about powers of numbers

Index
About Notation
Pythagorean Triplets
Almost-Isoceles Triples
Almost 30-60 Triples
Chains of Consecutive Squares
Pythagorean Quartets
Fermat's Last Theorem
Euler's Conjecture
Sums of Cubes (Cubic Quartets)
Sums of Fourth Powers
Sums of Fifth and Higher Powers
Sums of Powers of Consecutive Integers
Multigrades

About Notation
To save writing exponents, we'll denote power sums like this: terms on each side of the equality will be
separated by commas, and opposite sides of the equality will be separated by a semicolon. Thus, for
Pythagorean triplets, a, b; c means a2 + b2= c2. For chains of squares,
21, 22, 23, 24; 25, 26, 27 means 212+ 222+ 232+ 242=252+ 262+ 272 and similarly for sums of higher
powers. Where the exponent is not clear from context, it will be noted in parentheses. Thus: 95,800, 217,519,
414,560; 422,481 (n=4) means 95,8004 + 217,5194 + 414,5604 = 422,4814.

Pythagorean Triplets
The simplest triangle with integer sides that satisfies the Pythagorean Theorem is 3, 4, 5.
That is, 32 + 42 = 52. Such a triplet is called a Pythagorean Triplet. There are infinitely many, and they are
easy to generate. A classic formula, known since ancient times, can generate them at will. If the numbers in
the triplet are a, b, and c, then:
a = n2 -m2, b=2mn, c=m2+n2, where m and n are two integers and m is less than n.
(Verify that a2 + b2= c2.)

We can see several things of interest:

1. Looking at the b term, at least one number in every Pythagorean triple must be even.
2. Looking at the a and c terms, if m and n are both even or both odd, then a and c must be even. Thus, all
members of the triple are even. Since we can divide all the members of the triple by 2 to get a smaller
triple, we are not really interested in these cases. So we can restrict our attention to even-odd sets of m
and n.
 3. Obviously, if m and n have a common factor, so will the triple. We aren't interested in these cases
either.
4. Thus, the only interesting (relatively prime) triples are generated when m and n are relatively prime
and only one is even.
5. The c term (hypotenuse) will always be odd in any relatively prime triple.
6. The difference between c and b is always a square: c - b = (n - m)2. Since we only get relatively prime
triples when only one of (m,n) is odd, c - b is always an odd square.
7. The sum of c and b is always a square: c + b = (n + m)2.
8. Since a2 = c2 - b2 = (c - b)(c + b), c + b always equals a2 times an odd square. We can use this
relationship to group triples into related series:
9. Also, c - a = (n2 + m2) - (n2 - m2) = 2m2. Thus the difference between c and a is always two times a
square.

We can use the relationships above to group Pythagorean triples in many ways. This set of series displays
relationships 6-8 above:

c-b=1 m= n= c - b = 9 m= n= c - b = 25 m= n=
1, 0; 1 0 1 9, 0; 9 0 3 25, 0; 25 05
3, 4; 5 1 2 15, 8; 17 1 4 35, 12; 37 16
5, 12; 13 2 3 21, 20; 29 2 5 45, 28; 53 27
7, 24; 25 3 4 27, 36; 45 3 6 55, 48; 73 38
9, 40; 41 4 5 33, 56; 65 4 7 65, 72; 97 49
11, 60; 61 5 6 39, 80; 89 5 8 75, 100; 125 5 10

The set of series below emphasizes relationship 9 above:

c-a=2 m= n= c - a = 8 m= n= c - a = 18 m= n=
4, 3; 5 1 2 12, 5; 13 2 3 24, 7; 25 34
8, 15; 17 1 4 20, 21; 29 2 5 36, 27; 45 36
12, 35; 37 1 6 28, 45; 53 2 7 48, 55; 73 38
16, 63; 65 1 8 36, 77; 85 2 9 60, 91; 109 3 10
20, 99; 101 1 10 44, 117; 125 2 11 72, 135; 153 3 12

Almost-Isosceles Triples

The square root of two is irrational, therefore there cannot be any Pythagorean triplets a, a; c. But there are
an infinite number of triplets a, a + 1; c. Here are the first ten:

0 1 1 c=
3 4 5 6*1 -1
20 21 29 6*5 -1
119 120 169 6*29 - 5
696 697 985 6*169 -29
4059 4060 5741 6*985 - 169
23660 23661 33461 6*5741 -985
137903 137904 195025 6*33461 - 5741
803760 803761 1136689 6*195025 - 33461
4684659 4684660 6625109 6*1136689-195025
The recursion relations are:

a0 b0=a0+1 c0
a1 = 3*a0 + 2*b0 + 1 b1 = 3*a0 + 2*b0 +2 c1 = 4*a0 + 3*c0 + 2
a2 = 6*a1 - a0 + 2 b2 = 6*a1 - a0 + 2 c2 = 6*c1 - c0

Almost 30-60 Triples

Like the square root of two, the square root of three is irrational, so there cannot be any Pythagorean triples
that are 30-60 triangles (c = 2a). But we can come close; there are an infinite number of Pythagorean triples
where c = 2a +/- 1. Here are the first 13.

0 1 1
3 4 5
8 15 17
33 56 65
120 209 241
451 780 901
1680 2911 3361
6273 10864 12545
23408 40545 46817
87363 151316 174725
326040 564719 652081
1216801 2107560 2433601
4541160 7865521 9082321

The recursion relations are:

a0 b0 c0 = 2*a0 +/- 1
a1 = b0 + c0 +/- 1 b1 = c0 + 2*b0 - a0 c1 = 2*b0 + 2*c0 +/- 1

Chains of Consecutive Squares

The Pythagorean triplet 3,4;5 is the first example of another interesting pattern. The first few examples are:
3, 4; 5
10, 11, 12; 13, 14
21, 22, 23, 24; 25, 26, 27

For any value of a, there is a chain of a squares (n-a), (n-a+1) ..... (n-1),n; (n+1), n+2)....(n+a)
The value of n is given by n=2a(a+1).

Proof: Pair up terms across the equality as shown:

...... (n-3)2 + (n-2)2 + (n-1)2 + n2 = (n+1)2 + (n+2)2 + (n+3)2 .... or,
.......n2 - 6n + 9 + n2 - 4n + 4 + n2 - 2n + 1 + n2 = n2 + 2n + 1 + n2 + 4n + 4 + n2 + 6n + 9 ....
All the squares of integers cancel, as do all the n2 terms except one. We get:
...... -2an - ..... - 6n - 4n - 2n + n2 = 2n + 4n + 6n + ..... 2an. Dividing by n and rearranging:
n = 4(1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 ...... a). The sum of integers from 1 to a is a(a+1)/2 (see Sums of Powers of
Consecutive Integers below). Thus n = 2a(a+1). There is a chain of a+1 squares left of the equality and a to
the right. The examples above are for a = 1, 2, and 3. For a = 4, we find n = 40 and the resulting chain is: 36,
37, 38, 39, 40; 41, 42, 43, 44
Pythagorean Quartets

There are an infinite number of quartets of squares a, b, c; d. There are so many that they are not all that
interesting, except for one point. The three-dimensional version of the Pythagorean Theorem is a2 + b2 + c2
= d2. In other words, in three-dimensional Cartesian Coordinates, point (a,b,c) is distance d from the origin.
(Proof: Consider the x-y plane. Point (a,b,c) - call it Q - projects to (a,b,0). The distance from this point - call
it P - to the origin is given by a2 + b2 = r2. Now look at the vertical plane through Q and P. The distance from
Q to the origin is r2 + c2 = d2, and since a2 + b2 = r2, a2 + b2 + c2 = d2.) Thus Pythagorean quartets are the
coordinates of points in three dimensions that lie an integer distance from the origin.

A formula that generates Pythagorean quartets is:

a = m2, b = 2mn, c = 2n2; d = (m2 + 2n2) = a + c. Also note that b2 = 2ac. When m =1 and n = 1, we get 1, 2,
2; 3, the simplest example.

Fermat's Last Theorem

There are an infinite number of Pythagorean triplets. Are there any triplets for higher powers? That is, are
there any integers for which an + bn = cn, where n is a power higher than 2? The French mathematician
Pierre Fermat claimed about 1637 that there were none. He wrote in the margin of a book that he had a
marvelous proof too complex to fit in the margin. For centuries, mathematicians wished Fermat had been
reading a bigger book. The only reasons for taking such an unsupported conjecture seriously are (a) the
proofs Fermat did furnish were brilliant, (b) in every other case where Fermat claimed to have proven
something profound without actually providing a proof, a proof was later found and (c) Fermat's Last
Theorem survived every assault made on it. He has credibility.

The possibility that there might be a simple solution to a famous problem attracted cranks by the score. (Why
exactly cranks think they will become famous by solving famous problems is a mystery. How many
mathematicians have megabuck endorsement contracts?) Most mathematicians now think Fermat was
probably mistaken in thinking he had a proof (even Brett Favre gets sacked occasionally.) Fermat's Last
Theorem was proven for specific powers of n to such large values - in the millions - that nobody would ever
actually write a counter-example on paper. Finally, in 1993, the theorem was proven by Andrew Weil of
Princeton University. (Weil is now endorsing sneakers and married to a supermodel - not.)

Euler's Conjecture
There are no triplets of numbers for powers larger than 2, but there are longer sums. It is an interesting
coincidence that we have 3, 4; 5 for squares and 3, 4, 5; 6 for cubes (The pattern does not hold for larger
powers.) The mathematician Leonhard Euler conjectured that it always required n terms to sum to an nth
power: two squares, three cubes, four fourth powers, and so on. Nice guess, but wrong. In 1966, L. J. Lander
and T. R. Parkin found the first counterexample: four fifth powers that summed to a fifth power: 27, 84, 110,
133; 144.

In 1988 Noam Elkies of Harvard found a counterexample for fourth powers:

2,682,440, 15,365,639, 187,960; 20,615,673. Roger Frye of Thinking Machines Corporation did a computer
search to find the smallest example:
95,800, 217,519, 414,560; 422,481

Sums of Cubes (Cubic Quartets)

Even though 3, 4, 5; 6 for cubes is as pretty a mathematical formula as anyone could hope to find, sums of
cubes do not yield to formulas anything like as neat as those for Pythagorean triplets. One additional
complication is that cubes can be negative. We could ignore negative numbers in dealing with Pythagorean
triplets, but we cannot in dealing with cubes. Also, Pythagorean triplets generally have terms that are more or
less the same size. The largest triplet with a term less than 10 is 9, 40; 41. Any term larger than 41 will differ
from all other squares by more than 81. But there is much less limitation on cubic quartets. For example:

1, 6 , 8 ; 9
1 , 71 , 138 ; 144
1 , 135 , 138 ; 172
1 , 236 , 1207 ; 1210
1 , 242 , 720 ; 729
1 , 372 , 426 ; 505
1 , 426 , 486 ; 577
1 , 566 , 823 ; 904
1 , 575 , 2292 ; 2304
1 , 791 , 812 ; 1010
1 , 1124 , 5610 ; 5625
1 , 1851 , 8675 ; 8703
1 , 1938 , 2820 ; 3097
1 , 1943 , 6702 ; 6756
1 , 2196 , 5984 ; 6081
1 , 2676 , 3230 ; 3753

The list above resulted from a search where b and c ranged up to 10,000, so it appears the cutoff at b = 2676
is a real limit. These are "almost" exceptions to Fermat's Last Theorem. Since cubes can be negative, we also
find this set of "almost" exceptions to Fermat's Last Theorem. 

-1 , 9,  10 ;12
-1 , 73 ,144 ; 150
-1 , 244 , 729 ; 738
-1 , 368 , 1537 ;1544
-1 , 577 , 2304 ;2316
-1 , 1010 ,1897 ;1988
-1 , 1033 ,1738 ;1852
-1 , 1126 ,5625 ;5640
-1 , 3097 ,3518 ;4184
-1 , 3753 ,4528 ;5262

Again, since the search ran to b = c = 10,000, the cutoff at 3753 is probably the real limit.

Polynomial Generators
There are quite a few polynomials known that generate cubic quartets. Here are some:

3m2+5mn-5n2, 4m2-4mn+6n2, 5m2-5mn-3n2; 6m2-4mn+4m2

m2+16m-21, 16m-m2+21, 2m2-4m+42; 2m2+4m+42
(2m-1)(2m3-6m2-1), (m+1)(5m3-9m2+3m-1), 3m(m+1)(m2-m+1); 3m(2m-1)(m2-m+1)

Vieta, 1591

In 1591, Francois Vieta developed the formula below. We can generate numbers a, b, c; d for cubes as
follows:

a = m(m3 - 2n3), b = n(2m3 - n3), c = n(m3 + n3), d = m(m3 + n3), where m and n are any two numbers. If m
= 2 and n =1 we get 12, 15, 9; 18. If m = 3 and n = 2 we get 33, 70, 92; 105.

Unfortunately, the sum of two squares has no simple factors, but the sum of two cubes does. Vieta's formulas
yield large numbers that are often not relatively prime. Elementary reasoning suggests that if it takes two
variables to create a Pythagorean triple, it should take at least three to make the cubic analogue, so Vieta's
solution is not complete. 
Euler, 1760

We can write A3 + B3 = D3 - C3, and then factor both polynomials. Unfortunately, this seductively
symmetrical approach tends to lead to solutions with four variables. Euler's solution (1760-63) is typical. He
let A,B,C and D be as follows:

A = (m-n)p + q3     B = (m+n)p - q3     C = p2 - (m+n)q     D = p2 + (m-n)q

A3 + B3 = D3 - C3 factors to: (A+B)(A2-AB+B2) = (D-C)(D2+CD+C2)

Substituting and simplifying, we have m2 +3n2 = 3pq. Obviously m is divisible by 3. Call m = 3k. Also pq =
n2 + 3k2

However, Euler also proved that every divisor of n2 + 3k2, if n and k are relatively prime, is of the same
form. Thus we can write

p = x2 + 3y2     q = z2 + 3w2     m = 3(yz +- xw)     n =(xz -+ 3yw)

and plug these back into the formulas for A,B,C and D. This, unfortunately, is pretty typical of most of the
solutions of this problem. We end up with a chain of substitutions leading back to extremely complex
formulas with no attempt to condense or simplify them. And since D is wholly dependent on A, B, and C,
there should be no more than three independent variables.

Korneck, 1873
G. Korneck in 1873 derived this solution in three variables for the formula 
A3 + B3 = C3 + D3. Since cubes can be negative, this is merely a slight rearrangement of the formula above.

A = 6m3tf + t(t+m)(m4 + m2t2 + t4) + 3t(t-m)f2

B = 6m3tf - t(t+m)(m4 + m2t2 + t4) - 3t(t-m)f2 
C = -6t3mf +m(t+m)(m4 + m2t2 + t4) + 3m(m-t)f2 
D = 6t3mf +m(t+m)(m4 + m2t2 + t4) + 3m(m-t)f2

Table of Quartets with a and b < 100

Below is a table of cube sums for a and b less than 100. Click here for a complete listing of quartets with a, b
and c up to 1000.

a b c d
1 6 8 9
1 71 138 144
2 17 40 41
3 4 5 6
3 10 18 19
3 34 114 115
3 36 37 46
4 17 22 25
4 57 248 249
5 76 123 132
5 86 460 461
6 32 33 41
7 14 17 20
7 54 57 70
9 55 116 120
9 58 255 256
11 15 27 29
12 19 53 54
12 31 102 103
12 81 136 145
12 86 159 167
13 51 104 108
13 65 121 127
14 23 70 71
15 42 49 58
15 64 297 298
15 82 89 108
16 23 41 44
16 47 108 111
16 51 213 214
17 40 86 89
17 57 177 179
18 19 21 28
19 53 90 96
19 60 69 82
19 92 101 122
19 93 258 262
20 54 79 87
21 43 84 88
21 46 188 189
22 51 54 67
22 57 255 256
22 75 140 147
23 81 300 302
23 86 97 116
23 94 105 126
25 31 86 88
25 38 87 90
25 48 74 81
26 55 78 87
27 30 37 46
27 46 197 198
27 64 306 307
28 53 75 84
29 34 44 53
29 75 96 110
31 33 72 76
31 64 137 142
31 95 219 225
32 54 85 93
33 70 92 105
34 39 65 72
35 77 202 206
36 38 61 69
36 147 341 350
38 43 66 75
38 48 79 87
38 57 124 129
42 83 205 210
44 51 118 123
44 73 128 137
45 53 199 201
45 69 79 97
46 47 148 151
47 75 295 297
47 97 162 174
48 85 491 492
49 80 263 266
49 84 102 121
50 61 64 85
50 67 216 219
50 74 97 113
51 82 477 478
53 58 194 197
54 80 163 171
56 61 210 213
57 68 180 185
57 82 495 496
58 59 69 90
58 75 453 454
59 93 148 162
61 90 564 565
64 75 477 478
65 87 142 156
66 97 632 633
69 99 146 164
71 73 138 150
71 81 384 386
72 85 122 141
86 95 97 134
88 95 412 415
94 96 99 139

Sums of Higher Powers

Sums of Fourth Powers

If we look at the fourth powers of the digits 0-9, we see an interesting fact. The fourth powers are: 04=0,
14=1, 24=16, 34=81, 44=256, 54=625, 64=1296, 74=2401, 84=4096, 94=6561. Fourth powers only end in
0,1,5 and 6. To get fourth powers that sum to a fourth power, we have to find combinations that sum to
something ending in those digits. Using sums of four terms, we find only (0,0,0,1=1), (0,0,0,5=5),
(0,0,0,6=6), (0,0,1,5=6), (0,0,5,5=0), (0,0,5,6=1), (0,1,5,5=1), (0,5,5,5=5), (0,5,5,6=6), (1,5,5,5=6),
(5,5,5,5=0), (5,5,5,6=1). Note here that we're talking about the powers, not the numbers themselves; a fourth
power ending in 6 could belong to a number ending in any even digit. Nevertheless, this improves the odds a
lot over the 10,000 combinations if any combination of four ending digits were possible. Noting that Euler's
conjecture isn't true, but Fermat's Last Theorem is, one of the four terms at most can be zero (although other
terms can end in zero.)

Kermit Rose and Simcha Brudno, (More about four biquadrates equal one biquadrate, Mathematics of
computation, vol. 27, no. 123, July 1973, p. 491-494.) found the following sets, where A4+B4+C4+D4=E4

A B C D E
30 120 315 272 353
240 340 430 599 651
2420 710 435 1384 2487
2365 1190 1130 1432 2501
2745 1010 850 1546 2829
2460 2345 2270 3152 3723
3395 3230 350 1652 3973
2650 1060 205 4094 4267
3670 3545 1750 1394 4333
4250 2840 700 699 4449
1880 1660 380 4907 4949
5080 1120 1000 3233 5281
5055 3910 410 1412 5463
5400 1770 955 2634 5491
5400 1680 30 3043 5543
5150 4355 1810 1354 5729
5695 4280 2770 542 6167
5000 885 50 5984 6609
6185 4790 1490 3468 6801
5365 2850 1390 6368 7101
2790 1345 160 7166 7209
6635 5440 800 3052 7339
6995 5620 2230 3196 7703
5670 5500 4450 7123 8373
7565 5230 4730 4806 8433
7630 5925 4910 524 8493
7815 6100 3440 1642 8517
8230 2905 1050 5236 8577
5780 3695 3450 8012 8637
8570 6180 3285 816 9137
6435 2870 680 8618 9243
7820 6935 5800 5192 9431
8760 6935 1490 1394 9519
8570 7050 305 5264 9639
8835 6800 5490 2922 9797
6485 5660 4840 8864 9877
8870 8635 1620 2294 10419
9145 8530 5300 5936 10939
10490 8635 5300 3556 11681
11455 6200 4490 1476 11757
8735 8170 1180 10144 12019
11720 7270 3710 2833 12167
9360 8655 7480 8862 12259
8925 4410 3450 11234 12287
11390 8045 320 7352 12439
12435 6190 5780 1616 12759
10310 6870 2935 10678 12771
12845 5950 2870 5934 13137
11210 7590 7025 9712 13209
13040 4975 1700 7896 13521
12035 3610 3440 10738 13637
13410 6420 1275 8278 14029
13740 7920 6660 3929 14297
14405 2630 210 34 14409
13355 8010 1530 9498 14489
13900 2040 1920 9219 14531
13760 10245 800 4682 14751
14815 8940 4250 2512 15309
11110 6800 3890 14579 15829
11815 5640 2880 14598 16027
15780 4790 4140 7701 16049
15940 6670 5430 137 16113
14320 13110 2275 1088 16359
14890 8830 1220 12107 16643
15160 11015 10850 412 16891
11810 2350 1845 15776 16893
15375 11050 6690 11658 17381
13060 8495 1220 15644 17519
16405 6500 950 11896 17521
16215 12850 5450 1802 17661
10660 3235 3220 17068 17693
17320 9860 1945 7256 17881
17510 8340 2760 9423 18077
16805 13660 5270 5898 18477
15365 12430 11410 12668 18701
16560 8355 610 15906 19483
13940 9305 4460 17726 19493
17595 13440 5370 12772 19871
19255 3090 780 12702 20111
11980 8975 1090 19244 20131
19670 10030 1880 9579 20253
19480 7550 1660 12969 20469
18100 13690 12140 11801 20699
13970 8855 8720 19142 20719
17740 16525 12070 3362 21013
13915 5950 5420 24802 25427
16260 12860 8545 34178 34803
1840 30690 41000 89929 91179

Sums of Fifth and Higher Powers

Amazingly enough, there is a formula for fifth powers that generates an infinite number of solutions:
(75y5-x5), (x5+25y5), (x5-25y5), (10x3y2), (50xy4); (x5+75y5)

Intuition suggests there have to be a lot more than two variables needed for a complete solution, so this
formula, though interesting, is only a special case.

There are no examples or formulas known for powers above 5.

Sums of Powers of Consecutive Integers

What is the general formula for the sum 1n + 2n + 3n + 4n + ..... xn for any value of n? This turns out to be a
tougher and deeper problem than one might guess. It will be useful to write the sum as a function Sn(x), that
is, the sum of the nth powers of consecutive integers up to x. For n=0, the answer is trivial: S0(x) = x.

For n=1, a little trick helps. Pair up the first and last terms in the series, the second and next to last, and so
on. We have 1 + x, 2 + (x-1), 3+ (x-2) and so on. If x is even, we have x/2 pairs each summing to x+1, so the
total is (x/2)(x+1). Thus S1(x) = x(x+1)/2. If x is odd, leave off the last term x for a moment. Now there is
one less pair plus the leftover term x, so S1(x) = (x-1)/2)(x) + x or S1(x) = x(x+1)/2, again.

n = 2:
For higher powers we have to get trickier. Consider n=2. We assume S2(x)=ax3 + bx2 + cx + d. Since S2(0)
= 0, d=0. This will be true for any Sn(x); there is no constant term.

Now calculate S2(x+1)-s2(x): We have:

S2(x+1)-S2(x)=a(x+1)3 + b(x+1)2 + c(x+1) - (ax3 + bx2 + cx) =

ax3 + 3ax2 + 3ax + a - ax3
+ bx2 + 2bx + b - bx2
+ cx + c - cx
or
S2(x+1)-S2(x) = 3ax2 + 3ax + a + 2bx + b + c
but also
S2(x+1)-S2(x) = (x+1)2 = x2 + 2x + 1
Now, when two polynomials are equal for any x, their coefficients must be equal. Thus: 3a = 1 and a = 1/3;
3a + 2b = 2, thus b = 1/2; a + b + c = 1, thus c = 1/6. Thus:
S2(x)=(1/3)x3 + (1/2)x2 + (1/6)x = (2x3 + 3x2 + x)/6 = x(x+1)(2x+1)/6

n=3:

Now that we have a general algorithm, we can apply it to higher powers.

Assume S3(x)=ax4 + bx3 + cx2 + dx. Write:

S3(x+1)-S3(x)=a(x+1)4 + b(x+1)3 + c(x+1)2 + dx - (ax4 + bx3 + cx2 + d) =

ax4 + 4ax3 + 6ax2 + 4ax + x - ax4
+ bx3 + 3bx2 + 3bx + b - bx3
+ cx2 + 2cx + c - cx2
+ dx + d - dx
or
S3(x+1)-S3(x) = 4ax3 + 6ax2 + 4ax + a + 3bx2 + 3bx + b + 2cx + c + d =
(x+1)3 = x3 + 3x2 + 3x + 1
Hence:
4a = 1 and a = 1/4; 6a + 3b = 3 and b = 1/2; 4a + 3b + 2c = 3 and c = 1/4;
a + b + c + d =1 and d= 0
Combining terms and simplifying: S3(x) = x2(x + 1)2/4 or S3(x) = (S1(x))2.
It looks like we might be starting a nice pattern.

n=4:

Using the routine above, assume S4(x)=ax5 + bx4 + cx3 + dx2 + ex.

S4(x+1)-S4(x)=
ax5 + 5ax4 + 10ax3 + 10ax2 + 5ax + a - ax5 + bx4 + 4bx3 + 6bx2 + 4bx + b - bx4
+ cx3 + 3cx2 + 3cx + c - cx3
+ dx2 + 2dx + d - dx2
+ ex + e - ex
or
S4(x+1)-S4(x) = 5ax4 + (10a + 4b)x3 + (10a + 6b + 3c)x2 + (5a + 4b + 3c + 2d)x + (a + b + c + d + e)
= x4 + 4x3 + 6x2 + 4x + x. Thus:
5a =1 and a = 1/5; 10a + 4b = 4 and b = 1/2; 10a + 6b + 3c = 6 and c=1/3;
5a + 4b + 3c + 2d = 4 and d = 0; a + b + c + d + e = 1 and e = -1/30. Clearing fractions, we get:
S4(x) = (6x5 + 15x4 + 10x3 - x)/30 = x(x + 1)(2x + 1)(3x2 + 3x -1)/30.
So much for our elegant pattern.
The coefficients for powers up to 12 are shown below.

x x2 x3 x4 x5 x6 x7 x8 x9 x10 x11 x12

n=1 1/2 1/2
n=2 1/6 1/2 1/3
n=3 0 1/4 1/2 1/4
n=4 -1/30 0 1/3 1/2 1/5
n=5 0 -1/12 0 5/12 1/2 1/6
n=6 1/42 0 -1/6 0 1/2 1/2 1/7
n=7 0 1/12 0 -7/24 0 7/12 1/2 1/8
n=8 -1/30 0 2/9 0 -7/15 0 2/3 1/2 1/9
n=9 0 -3/20 0 1/2 0 -7/10 0 3/4 1/2 1/10
n=10 5/66 0 -1/2 0 1/1 0 -1/1 0 5/6 1/2 1/11
n=11 0 5/12 0 -11/8 0 11/16 0 -11/8 0 11/12 1/2 1/12

Readers with some advanced math background may recognize the first column as Bernoulli Numbers (with
alternating signs) for the even powers. The patterns in the table are easiest to see along the diagonals. From
right to left, the terms in each diagonal are as follows (n is the row number)

1/(n+1)
1/2
n/12 (Each term is n/(n-1) times the preceding term - this will make sense when compared to the
patterns below)
0
Each term is n/(n-3) times the preceding term
0
Each term is n/(n-5) times the preceding term
0
Each term is n/(n-7) times the preceding term

Factored polynomials for each n are:

n=0: x
n=1: x(x + 1)/2
n=2: x(x + 1)(2x + 1)/6
n=3: x2(x + 1)2/4
n=4: x(x + 1)(2x + 1)(3x2 + 3x - 1)/30
n=5: x2(x + 1)2(2x2 + 2x - 1)/12

Multigrades
One might guess that it is very unlikely to have sums of powers that hold for several different exponents. In
fact, there are many such equations, called multigrades. For example:

1 + 8 + 10 + 17 = 36 = 2 + 5 + 13 + 16
12 + 82 + 102 + 172 = 454 = 22 + 52 + 132 + 162
13 + 83 + 103 + 173 = 6426 = 23 + 53 + 133 + 163

It is a remarkable fact that we can add any integer to all the terms of the multigrade and it will still hold.
Adding 1 to the example above, we get (2, 9, 11, 18); (3, 6, 14, 17). (n=1,2,3). For clarity we group the terms
on each side of the equality in parentheses.

A few remarkable high-order multigrades are:

(1, 50, 57, 15, 22, 71); (2, 45, 61, 11, 27, 70); (5, 37, 66, 6, 35, 67) (n=1,2,3,4,5)

(1, 9, 25, 51, 75, 79, 107, 129, 131, 157, 159, 173);
(3, 15, 19, 43, 89, 93, 97, 137, 139, 141, 167, 171) (n=1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13)

References
Most of the historical results are from:

Dickson, Leonard E., History of the theory of numbers,  New York, Chelsea Pub. Co., 1952.

This is a rich but maddeningly disorganized book, with no attempt to use consistent notation or format.

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