What are Prime Numbers?

Prime numbers are more significant than we give them credit for. Did you know that prime numbers have been in use for encryption since the 19th century! Prime numbers are also used in pseudorandom number generators as well as in computer hash tables. So, clearly, the prime numbers have lots of application in the digital world.

So, with that in mind, we are here today to ask you if you know what prime numbers are. Do you have the answer or is math the subject that you have never been good at?

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What Are Prime Numbers?

In simple terms, a prime number is defined as any positive integer which is not perfectly divisible by any positive integer other than 1 and the integer itself. What it means is that a prime number cannot be factored by any other integer other than 1 and itself. The definition of prime numbers also states that to qualify as a prime number, a positive integer must have exactly two factors, the first one would be 1 and the other would be the number itself.

For instance, take the integer 13. When you factorize 13, you get 1 * 13 as the integer is not divisible by any other positive integer. Therefore, 13 is a prime number. Again, you can take the example of the number 15. On factorizing 15, you get 3*5, which means that the positive integer 15 is divisible by 3 as well as 5. This means that 15 is a composite or not a prime number.

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Which Is The Smallest Prime Number?

As per the modern mathematics, the smallest prime number is 2. Since prime numbers are the positive integers that are only divisible by 1 and themselves, and 2 is the next positive number after one which qualifies the equation. 2 is also the only even prime number in the world since all other even numbers are divisible by 2. The reason that 1 is not considered to be a prime factor is the fact that by definition, a prime number must have exactly two factors, which is not the case with 1. 1, as a positive integer, has only one factor, which is the number itself.

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Which Is The Largest Prime Number?

Though new prime numbers are discovered now and then, the largest prime number currently know is 274,207,281 - 1, which has 22,338,618 digits, and was discovered by Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS). Also known as M74207281, it supersedes the previous largest known prime number by almost 5 million digits.

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So, do you now know what prime numbers are? Are you ready to check whether a number is prime or not? Share your opinions about the article through your comments below. We would love to hear from you.

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