UCLA group discovers humongous prime number

General Science / Mathematics

(AP) -- Mathematicians at UCLA have discovered a 13 million-digit prime number, a long-sought milestone that makes them eligible for a $100,000 prize.

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Posted by gopher65 09/28/08 13:24

Rank: 5/5 after 1 vote

Man, even wikinews published this story a long, long time ago. Way to be a week or two behind the curve, physorg.

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Posted by exequus 09/29/08 00:06

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A 13 million-digit prime number? Not bad, not bad. For an encore, could they find a 13 million-digit subprime number, now that the notion of subprime is so much in the air?

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Posted by Slamshift 09/29/08 05:03

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Yep, Subprime theory is HOT right now...the mathematic theory behind Subprimes is dizzying to those trying to apply it (or, actually, apply FOR it)...plus any predictions on negative results can apparently only be expressed post facto, and the experiments themelves are mind-bogglingly expensive.
The best part about being a "researcher" on Subprimes is that those that devise the schemes of the "experiment" are not required to provide any rigor or responsiblity and the country as a whole gets firsthand resultant data to the tune of 4436 dollars per active taxpayer. Fun stuff.