Next I’ll make a Debigulator!
4 January 2006 :: By Andy Tunnicliffe
Sometimes “pure” science can be a dubious way to spend one’s time. Scientists have recently discovered the largest prime number to date. It will be joining the ranks of other famous primes like 3, 7, 31, and the greatest number in history…17. This new number is 9.1 million digits long. Not quite a googleplex, but still a bit out of the realm of everyday use. The number is called “M30402457”. It took 700 computers years to calculate this.
I am not sure what impact this “discovery” will have on humanity, but maybe it is a good reason to pop some Champagne. At the very least, these scientists will have more dates. The hotties will be all over them, saying, “tell me the M30402457 story again, Sheldon!”
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January 4th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
I’m like totally happy for them and stuff, but this is my favorite part:
Are they excited in way that one gets excited upon finding missing car keys, or excited in the way they probably get when a hot girl talks about calculus?
Looks like those 700 computers have a new job to get cracking on…
January 4th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
The fact that “smart” people are spending time and money on research makes me wonder how smart they really are. We know there are infinitely many prime numbers. Even though they “discover” a larger one ,there will always be more, even larger, yet to be discovered. I guess it’s a reserch project that will never end. I guess that means more wasted money and more wasted time.
January 4th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
Well I say good thing they were working on that!… phew! I thought all those crazy scientists were wasting their time trying to find a cure for cancer or AIDS or something…
Gi-normous prime numbers are so much cooler and way more useful!! M30402457 totally rocks!
January 4th, 2006 at 4:53 pm
If I were an athlete I’d put that on the back of my Shirt and heckle people with 3, 5 and especially 31.
Also, dude, 1’s not a prime number.
January 4th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
That’s true, 1 is not a prime number. Good thing I have access to a time machine
For a listing of more primes than you will ever need, go here: http://www.math.utah.edu/~alfeld/math/primelist.html