Thread: Prime Numbers

Prime numbers don't follow a pattern, but rather a trend.

I can't make an equation/forumla/instruction with this. Basically, if you take two prime numbers, subtract them, and then subtract zero from that, and subtract that from x1 you get another Prime number. After that you then use - 2, then + 2, and then cycling, it works. I think.

Yep, you get a prime number from those steps.

-snip-

Whee 'x' is any prime number >13:

P = 6x +/-1

Originally Posted by A Roxxor

Whee 'x' is any prime number >13:

P = 6x +/-1

All prime numbers apart from 2 & 3 can be written as 6n-1 or 6n+1

But that is not a pattern.

It sure is an effective way of listing all prime numbers.

Originally Posted by A Roxxor

It sure is an effective way of listing all prime numbers.

No it isn't. Finding primes still requires factorization, an enormously computationally heavy process. If finding primes was easy, why is there a running record for finding the largest prime?

There is no largest prime...

You mean they give a prize each time they find a bigger one..?

Originally Posted by Xei

There is no largest prime...

You mean they give a prize each time they find a bigger one..?

The largest prime known thus far. I'm not sure if they give prizes, but it's always a celebrated event to find a new prime. If there was any non-NP process for finding primes, then it wouldn't be such a big deal.

If there was any non-NP process for finding primes, then it wouldn't be such a big deal.

Thats assuming that P doesn't equal NP. Which, hasen't been proven yet.

Originally Posted by wendylove

Thats assuming that P doesn't equal NP. Which, hasen't been proven yet.

What are you talking about? NP is defined to be the problems harder than P.

It sure is an effective way of listing all prime numbers.

No, and its not even that useful in testing prime numbers... Though you can write a "smart" naive test (oxymoron?) using that information.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

The largest prime known thus far. I'm not sure if they give prizes, but it's always a celebrated event to find a new prime. If there was any non-NP process for finding primes, then it wouldn't be such a big deal.

I think the prize is $100,000

Internet says there's an online mersene prime project which has found the last 11 primes using an online supercomputer. Not sure about the prize if they're doing it that regularly...

There's some million dollar prize to find a definite formula, (or prove proposed formulas using calculas,) which could find all primes without needing additional information.

Originally Posted by Xei

Internet says there's an online mersene prime project which has found the last 11 primes using an online supercomputer. Not sure about the prize if they're doing it that regularly...

It's distributed computing, and the prize was for finding the first 10 million digit prime number. The next prize is for the first to find a 100 million digit prime. http://www.mersenne.org/prime.htm

What are you talking about? NP is defined to be the problems harder than P.

Yes, but P can equal NP, however thats highly unlikely.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex...asses_P_and_NP

There's some million dollar prize to find a definite formula, (or prove proposed formulas using calculas,) which could find all primes without needing additional information.

You don't know what calculus is, do you? Shush please.

You don't know what calculus is, do you? Shush please.

Wow, your elitist. No such formula currently exists. You can use one to test if a number is prime, but it's one of the millenium problems too do something like that. (What I mentioned.)

I don't have an elitist...

Anyway, how or why would you prove a number theory result with calculus?

Alright, maybe your not elitist. But that comment kind of was.

Anyway, I don't know how or why. All I know is that there is a list of millenium problems that offer a million dollar grant to any mathematician who can proove various things. One of them is the validity of using a formula or whatever that could theoretically be used to find all the prime numbers. If someone can discover that formula and find it's proof, find the proof for a previously suggested but unproven formula, or proove that such a formula doesn't exist they win the prize!

I'm not too good at explaining exactly what you have to do in the formula. But it's something like that.

Yeah, I understand that much. Did you just make the calculus bit up though?

Originally Posted by spockman

I'm not too good at explaining exactly what you have to do in the formula. But it's something like that.

You need a refresher. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula