Newest Prime Number Found Today!

  • Thread starter Miles
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In summary, a new prime number with 6,320,430 digits has been discovered, making it the largest known prime number. It follows the pattern of a Mersenne prime, 2^p-1, with p being a prime number. This number, 2^{20996011}-1, has no practical application but is an exciting discovery for mathematicians and enthusiasts.
  • #1
Miles
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Hey, check this out, the newest prime number found today!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&ncid=528&e=10&u=/ap/20031211/ap_on_hi_te/biggest_prime_number
 
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  • #2
Cool! Just like most other very large prime numbers, this is also a Mersenne-prime:

[tex]2^p-1[/tex]

with [tex]p[/tex] itself prime. In this case

[tex]2^{20996011}-1[/tex]

was proven to be prime.

The number is 6,320,430 digits long and [...] it is more than 2 million digits larger than the previous largest known prime number.
Zero practical application, but very cool.
 
  • #3
Very interesting indeed. I learned about Mersenne primes in a discrete math class this semester. It's amazing how hundreds of people worldwide are joined into finding out bigger and bigger prime numbers for well no reason at all except the fact of self enjoyment. Very cool stuff.
 

What is a prime number?

A prime number is a positive integer that is only divisible by 1 and itself. In other words, it has no factors other than 1 and itself.

How is a prime number found?

A prime number can be found using various mathematical algorithms and methods, such as the Sieve of Eratosthenes or the AKS primality test. These methods involve checking for divisibility by all numbers up to the square root of the given number.

Why is finding new prime numbers important?

Finding new prime numbers is important for both theoretical and practical reasons. In mathematics, prime numbers play a crucial role in number theory and have applications in cryptography. In practical terms, prime numbers are used in algorithms and coding for secure communication and data encryption.

How often are new prime numbers discovered?

New prime numbers are constantly being discovered, but the frequency depends on the size of the number. Smaller prime numbers are found more frequently, while larger prime numbers may not be discovered for years or even decades.

What makes the newest prime number special?

The newest prime number may have special properties or patterns that make it unique. It could also be a record-breaking prime number in terms of its size or the number of digits it contains.

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