This is a problem that's arisen many times over. The bottom line is that on a computer that uses binary floating point (which Java requires), only fractions in which the denominator is a power of 2 can be represented precisely.
The same problem arises in decimal. 1/3, for example, turns into 0.3333333..., because 3 isn't a factor of 10 (the base we're using in decimal). Likewise 1/17, 1/19, etc.
In binary floating point, the same basic problem arises. The main difference is that in decimal, since 5 is a factor of 10, 1/5 can be represented precisely (and so can multiples of 1/5). Since 5 is not a factor of 2, 1/5 cannot be represented precisely in binary floating point.
Contrary to popular belief, however, some fractions can be represented precisely -- specifically those fractions whose denominators with only 2 as a prime factor (e.g., 1/8 or 1/256 can be represented precisely).
