what is modular art? How does it relate to math?

Answer 1

Modular arithmetic (sometimes called modulo arithmetic, or clock arithmetic because of its use in the 24-hour clock system) is a system of arithmetic for integers, where numbers "wrap around" after they reach a certain value — the modulus. Modular arithmetic was introduced by Carl Friedrich Gauss in his book Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, published in 1801.

A familiar use of modular arithmetic is its use in the 24-hour clock: the arithmetic of time-keeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, numbered from 0 to 23. If the time is noted at 7 o'clock in the evening — 19:00 in the 24-hour system — and then again 8 hours later, then rather than the time being 27:00 (as in usual addition: 19 + 8 = 27), the time will actually be denoted as 03:00, albeit the next day. Likewise, if the clock starts at noon (12:00) and 21 hours elapse, then the time will be 09:00 the next day, rather than 33:00 (as in usual addition). Since the hour number starts over at 00 hours after passing 23 hours, this is arithmetic modulo 24 — the hours "wrap around" upon reaching the modulus 24.

Answer 2

Modulo arithmetic: my favorite kind!