A prime factor is a natural number, other than 1, whose only factors are 1 and itself. The first few prime numbers are actually 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and so on. Now we can also use what’s called prime ...

A basic feature of number theory, prime numbers are also a fundamental building block of computer science, from hashtables to cryptography. Everyone knows that a prime number is one that cannot be ...

NPR asked the typographers at Hoefler & Frere-Jones to estimate how long this Mersenne prime would be if typed out -- all 12,987,189 digits. The answer, it turns out, depends not only on the font but ...