Prime numbers are sometimes called math’s “atoms” because they can be divided by only themselves and 1. For two millennia, ...

Montgomery happened to find strikingly similar behavior in the prime numbers— specifically, the correlations between the ...

Prime numbers may not seem like a regular pattern at first glance, but when linked together from any point of view, they can appear to form a spiral. Mathematician Grant Sanderson explains how this ...

Despite finding no specific examples, researchers have proved the existence of a pervasive kind of prime number so delicate that changing any of its infinite digits renders it composite. Take a look ...

A new proof has debunked a conspiracy that mathematicians feared might haunt the number line. In doing so, it has given them another set of tools for understanding arithmetic’s fundamental building ...

Prime numbers, those integers divisible only by one and themselves, have fascinated mathematicians for millennia. Their distribution among other numbers remains a mystery, despite technological ...

Prime numbers are positive integers greater than 1 that can only be divided evenly by 1 and themselves. These numbers are important in many areas of mathematics, including number theory, cryptography, ...

One of my favorite anecdotes about prime numbers concerns Alexander Grothendieck, who was among the most brilliant mathematicians of the 20th century. According to one account, he was once asked to ...

A shard of smooth bone etched with irregular marks dating back 20,000 years puzzled archaeologists until they noticed something unique – the etchings, lines like tally marks, may have represented ...