At 08:13 PM 2/20/99 +0100, you wrote:
>i like the idea of finding larger and larger prime numbers but i still
>dont know what this will do for modern mathematics. Since numbers are
>infinite, these primes must also be infinite but with higher counts
>between each one...
Actually, it is unknown whether there are infinitely many Mersenne primes,
although it is suspected that there are. To prove that there are requires
more than just finding lots of very big ones, and to prove that there are
not requirwes more than just finding a huge gap while pushing the exponent
envelope. A solid mathematical proof of either must be general... and
nobody has come up with one.
--
.*. "Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not
-() < circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a
`*' straight line." -------------------------------------------------
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_____________________ ____|________ Paul Derbyshire [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Programmer & Humanist|ICQ: 10423848|
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