Knot tabulation
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Ever since Sir William Thomson's vortex theory, mathematicians have tried to classify and tabulate all possible knots. As of May 2008 all prime knots up to 16 crossings have been tabulated.
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[edit] Beginnings
Main article: History of knot theory
In an attempt to make a periodic table of the elements, P. G. Tait, C. N. Little and others started counting all possible knots.[1]
[edit] Perko pair
Main article: Perko pair
In 1974 Perko discovered a duplication in the Tait-Little tables, called the Perko pair.
[edit] New methods
Hoste et al. and Thistlethwaite each independently counted all knots with 16 crossings, and both got the same number.
