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johnnny | 3 years ago

k * √2 is an integer, and k is an integer, by construction of K and the initial assumption that K is not empty.

Therefore their difference k * √2 - k = k * (√2 - 1) is an integer.

discuss

order

janm31415|3 years ago

correct, I missed that.

johnnny|3 years ago

As fro your further edit: assuming √2 is rational, then the set of ~~rational~~ integers {q: q√2 ∈ ℤ} does not admit a minimum, indeed it contains arbitrarily small numbers, so we can't pick k the smallest member of that set.