Alcoblog Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 ... or to unacronymise it ... 'Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search'. Quote ... 'Largest Known Prime, 48th Known Mersenne Prime Found!! January 25th, 2013 — Prolific GIMPS contributor Dr. Curtis Cooper discovered the 48th known Mersenne prime, 257,885,161-1, a 17,425,170 digit number. This find shatters the previous record prime number of 12,978,189 digits, also a GIMPS prime, discovered over 4 years ago. The discovery is eligible for a $3,000 GIMPS research.' Can anyone tell me what's so important in finding the largest prime number (Mersenne or otherwise) when it's been pretty much proven that the scope is infinite (Lenstra–Pomerance–Wagstaff conjecture )? The only use for prime numbers I can fathom is for security codes in banking for instance. Can you imagine having to memorise a PIN number that's 17,425,170 digits long (as in the latest prime) just to get money out of the local cashpoint ... I couldn't do it, and neither could this guy!. Even if you could remember it and punched in two digits a second 24/7, it'd take over three months (yes ... I worked it out) to get your twenty quid note, by which time you'd have forgotten what you wanted it for ... not to mention the irate queue camping behind you on the pavement. Why do we need to know the largest prime? (By the way, if anyone can come up with a larger prime than the one mentioned above, can you post it on here or PM me with it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 ... or to unacronymise it ... 'Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search'. Quote ... 'Largest Known Prime, 48th Known Mersenne Prime Found!! January 25th, 2013 — Prolific GIMPS contributor Dr. Curtis Cooper discovered the 48th known Mersenne prime, 257,885,161-1, a 17,425,170 digit number. This find shatters the previous record prime number of 12,978,189 digits, also a GIMPS prime, discovered over 4 years ago. The discovery is eligible for a $3,000 GIMPS research.' Can anyone tell me what's so important in finding the largest prime number (Mersenne or otherwise) when it's been pretty much proven that the scope is infinite (Lenstra–Pomerance–Wagstaff conjecture )? The only use for prime numbers I can fathom is for security codes in banking for instance. Can you imagine having to memorise a PIN number that's 17,425,170 digits long (as in the latest prime) just to get money out of the local cashpoint ... I couldn't do it, and neither could this guy!. Even if you could remember it and punched in two digits a second 24/7, it'd take over three months (yes ... I worked it out) to get your twenty quid note, by which time you'd have forgotten what you wanted it for ... not to mention the irate queue camping behind you on the pavement. Why do we need to know the largest prime? (By the way, if anyone can come up with a larger prime than the one mentioned above, can you post it on here or PM me with it) It was started as a reason to stimulate massivly parallel computing. It's useful for the same reason that climbing Everest is useful - because we can, and because of all the useful spin offs that accrue from it. Most pure research is quite useless, but nothing beats the thrill you get when your results are not quite right, and you remark. "that's funny...." because that funny leads to such amazing things.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcoblog Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 It was started as a reason to stimulate massivly parallel computing. It's useful for the same reason that climbing Everest is useful - because we can, and because of all the useful spin offs that accrue from it. Most pure research is quite useless, but nothing beats the thrill you get when your results are not quite right, and you remark. "that's funny...." because that funny leads to such amazing things.... I doubt they'd find many prime numbers at the summit, neither would I find spinning off the top of it 'useful' at 8848 metres ... downright dangerous if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 ... or to unacronymise it ... 'Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search'. Quote ... 'Largest Known Prime, 48th Known Mersenne Prime Found!! January 25th, 2013 — Prolific GIMPS contributor Dr. Curtis Cooper discovered the 48th known Mersenne prime, 257,885,161-1, a 17,425,170 digit number. This find shatters the previous record prime number of 12,978,189 digits, also a GIMPS prime, discovered over 4 years ago. The discovery is eligible for a $3,000 GIMPS research.' Can anyone tell me what's so important in finding the largest prime number (Mersenne or otherwise) when it's been pretty much proven that the scope is infinite (Lenstra–Pomerance–Wagstaff conjecture )? The only use for prime numbers I can fathom is for security codes in banking for instance. Can you imagine having to memorise a PIN number that's 17,425,170 digits long (as in the latest prime) just to get money out of the local cashpoint ... I couldn't do it, and neither could this guy!. Even if you could remember it and punched in two digits a second 24/7, it'd take over three months (yes ... I worked it out) to get your twenty quid note, by which time you'd have forgotten what you wanted it for ... not to mention the irate queue camping behind you on the pavement. Why do we need to know the largest prime? (By the way, if anyone can come up with a larger prime than the one mentioned above, can you post it on here or PM me with it) I believe that Omega Prime may have been the largest of the Primes, although Sentinel Prime was pretty big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcoblog Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 I believe that Omega Prime may have been the largest of the Primes, although Sentinel Prime was pretty big. Oh come on then ... let's get all the stupid comments over and done with, this is supposed to be a serious thread! I hear Miss Jean Brodie discovered one too. Any more? ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Oh come on then ... let's get all the stupid comments over and done with, this is supposed to be a serious thread! I hear Miss Jean Brodie discovered one too. Any more? ... Hey, if I was going to make stupid comments I would have said that Unicron was the largest Prime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HbroChris Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 They're important in cryptography. The reason is complex and I don't understand it in any great detail, but the bigger the number, the longer it takes to mathematically compute the content from an encrypted message. More info here. The greatest prime is clearly Optimus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPC464 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 ... or to unacronymise it ... 'Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search'. Quote ... 'Largest Known Prime, 48th Known Mersenne Prime Found!! January 25th, 2013 — Prolific GIMPS contributor Dr. Curtis Cooper discovered the 48th known Mersenne prime, 257,885,161-1, a 17,425,170 digit number. This find shatters the previous record prime number of 12,978,189 digits, also a GIMPS prime, discovered over 4 years ago. The discovery is eligible for a $3,000 GIMPS research.' Can anyone tell me what's so important in finding the largest prime number (Mersenne or otherwise) when it's been pretty much proven that the scope is infinite (Lenstra–Pomerance–Wagstaff conjecture )? The only use for prime numbers I can fathom is for security codes in banking for instance. Can you imagine having to memorise a PIN number that's 17,425,170 digits long (as in the latest prime) just to get money out of the local cashpoint ... I couldn't do it, and neither could this guy!. Even if you could remember it and punched in two digits a second 24/7, it'd take over three months (yes ... I worked it out) to get your twenty quid note, by which time you'd have forgotten what you wanted it for ... not to mention the irate queue camping behind you on the pavement. Why do we need to know the largest prime? (By the way, if anyone can come up with a larger prime than the one mentioned above, can you post it on here or PM me with it) Primes are used in encryption technology, Nothing at all to do with memorising them to be your PIN number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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