WHEN a number is given, and it is required, without the aid of tables, to find its factors, there is nor, I believe, any other method known except the simple but laborious one of dividing it by every ...

On December 26, J Pace, G Woltman, S Kurowski, A Blosser and their co-authors announced the discovery of a new prime number: 2⁷⁷²³²⁹¹⁷-1. It’s an excellent opportunity to take a small tour through the ...

The largest known prime number has been discovered by an amateur researcher and former Nvidia employee. The new number is 2 136,279,841 – 1, which beats the previous title holder (2 82,589,933 – 1) by ...

Prime numbers—integers that are divisible only by themselves and 1—are the easiest path into understanding both rigor and mysticism in mathematics. Euclid’s proof that there is an infinite number of ...

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