Like physics, math has its own set of “fundamental particles”—the prime numbers, which can’t be broken down into smaller ...

Here’s a number to savor: 2 43,112,609-1. Its size is mind-boggling. With nearly 13 million digits, it makes the number of atoms in the known universe seem negligible, a mere 80 digits. But its true ...

A new highest known prime number has been calculated, clocking in at nearly 5 million digits more than the previous record holder. Michelle Starr Science editor Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor ...

Somewhere out there on the number line, huge prime numbers are lurking, waiting to be discovered. On Wednesday, a new one was. The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, an organization devoted to ...

Mathematicians have revealed a new category of “digitally delicate” prime numbers. These infinitely long primes turn back to composites faster than Cinderella at midnight with a change of any ...

Editor's Note: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story omitted part of the calculation for the new prime number, correctly described below as 2 multiplied by itself 57,885,161 times ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American When I saw a math paper with the phrase ...