Mathematicians have reportedly discovered a new way of multiplying two numbers together. The new technique is for really large numbers, and if it passes a peer-review, could be the fastest ...

To multiply two numbers by hand take a few steps but it’s something we’re taught in school. When dealing with big numbers, really big numbers, we need to a quicker way to do things.

It found an algorithm for multiplying two matrices of four rows of four numbers using just 47 multiplications, which outperforms Strassen’s 49 multiplications.

Radix-4 Booth Encoding: A method that reduces the number of partial products in multiplication, incrementally improving both speed and hardware efficiency.

For example, multiplying two 4×4 matrices together using a traditional schoolroom method would take 64 multiplications, while Strassen's algorithm can perform the same feat in 49 multiplications.