Largest known prime number discovered by computer in Missouri
Prime numbers are indispensable in computer encryption, these numbers according to principle are only divisible by 1 and themselves.
A computer at a University in Missouri was said to have lately discovered a new prime number which is about 22 million digits long and 5 million longer than the the earlier known prime number.
The discovered prime is written as 2^74,207,281-1, which denotes two, multiplied by itself 74,207,280 times, with one subtracted afterwards.
Uses of Large Prime Numbers
Large prime numbers are used basically for encryption in online banking, shopping and message computing systems, the current encryption system uses prime numbers in its hundreds and not millions compared to the recent discovery.
"This prime is too large to currently be of practical value," the Gimps project admitted in a statement . However, searching for large primes is intensive work for computer processors and can have
unexpected benefits.
unexpected benefits.
"One prime project discovered that there was a problem in some computer processors that only showed up in certain circumstances," said Dr Steven Murdoch, cybersecurity expert at University College London.
Source: BBC
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