Why study 3×3 distinct prime magic squares?
That’s a good question. I wrote the prime number generator long ago as a coding exercise, and the 3×3 distinct prime magic square generator was written to answer a puzzle in the department newsletter. I was surprised at how many such squares there are, so just left the generator running…. it eats cycles quietly on my workstation and happily churns out new squares. Whether anyone else is interested in these squares isn’t clear, but I thought I’d put the material up on the web in case anyone wanted to look at them. The algorithmic content is useful in that it makes a nice example of how vastly improved algorithms can follow from a deeper understanding of a problem. If you are aware of an application of these squares in any problem area, or of interesting mathematical observations concerning these squares, please do let me know. I’m not currently aware of any practical use for them whatsoever!
