Editing Alternating knot (section)

==Tait conjectures==
{{main article|Tait conjectures}}
The Tait conjectures are:
#Any reduced diagram of an alternating link has the fewest possible crossings.
#Any two reduced diagrams of the same alternating knot have the same [[writhe]].
#Given any two reduced alternating diagrams D<sub>1</sub> and D<sub>2</sub> of an oriented, prime alternating link: D<sub>1</sub> may be transformed to D<sub>2</sub> by means of a sequence of certain simple moves called ''[[flype]]s''. Also known as the Tait flyping conjecture.<ref>{{MathWorld|title=Tait's Knot Conjectures|urlname=TaitsKnotConjectures}} Accessed: May 5, 2013.</ref> 
[[Morwen Thistlethwaite]], [[Louis Kauffman]] and [[K. Murasugi]] proved the first two Tait conjectures in 1987 and [[Morwen Thistlethwaite]] and [[William Menasco]] proved the Tait flyping conjecture in 1991.