A collaborative computer project has discovered
the largest known prime number. The new prime number is nearly one million
digits larger than the previous record prime number, in a special class of
extremely rare prime numbers known as Mersenne primes.
The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search
(GIMPS) has discovered the largest known prime number, 277,232,917-1,
having 23,249,425 digits. A computer volunteered by Jonathan Pace made the find
on December 26, 2017. Jonathan is one of thousands of volunteers using free
GIMPS software.
The new prime
number, also known as M77232917, is calculated by multiplying together
77,232,917 twos, and then subtracting one. It is nearly one million digits
larger than the previous record prime number, in a special class of extremely
rare prime numbers known as Mersenne primes. It is only the 50th known Mersenne
prime ever discovered, each increasingly difficult to find. Mersenne primes
were named for the French monk Marin Mersenne, who studied these numbers more
than 350 years ago. GIMPS, founded in 1996, has discovered the last 16 Mersenne
primes. Volunteers download a free program to search for these primes, with a
cash award offered to anyone lucky enough to find a new prime. Prof. Chris
Caldwell maintains an authoritative web site on the largest known primes, and
has an excellent history of Mersenne primes.
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