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42nd Mersenne Prime Probably Discovered

Posted by Zonk on from the so-many-digits dept.

RTKfan writes "Chalk up another achievement for distributed computing! MathWorld is reporting that the 42nd, and now-largest, Mersenne Prime has probably been discovered. The number in question is currently being double-checked by George Woltman, organizer of GIMPS (the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search). If this pans out, GIMPS will have been responsible for the eight current largest Mersenne Primes ever discovered."

4 of 369 comments (clear)

  1. Re:good website for info by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Wow, some work you did, lifting the link inside TFA to repost it here...

    Mods these days couldn't see a karma-whore if it painted his bottom blue, put on a jester's hat and shouted "I'm a karma-whore"...

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  2. Immoral use of computing power by Space_Soldier · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    What is number going to for us? Is it going to feed us? No. It would be better if the computer power was used for cancer research or finding aliens.

  3. Re:Of course... by pv2b · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Actually, a quick glance at the listing of the prime number clearly showed that the number is divisible by 3.

    Oh well. At least the world won't be destroyed now.

  4. Re:Would a math geek... by Kiryat+Malachi · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    A Mersenne number is all ones when written in binary. If its prime, it is a Mersenne prime.

    Hey. Idiot. The "it" refers to a Mersenne number, not to the set of all primes.

    I.E. if it is a Mersenne number, and prime, it is a Mersenne prime. I know that the grammar of the GP was a little sloppy, but I think you owe him at least a little inference in that it was pretty obvious he was referring to the subset of primes within the set of Mersenne numbers, and not the set of primes within the integers.

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