12M Digit Prime Number Sets Record, Nets $100,000

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday October 15, 2009 @03:43AM from the that's-a-lotta-bits dept.

coondoggie writes "A 12-million-digit prime number, the largest such number ever discovered, has landed a voluntary math research group a $100,000 prize from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The number, known as a Mersenne prime, is the 45th known Mersenne prime, written shorthand as 2 to the power of 43,112,609, minus 1 . A Mersenne number is a positive integer that is one less than a power of two, the group stated. The computing project called the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) made the discovery on a computer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Mathematics Department."

4 of 232 comments (clear)

Re:Sounds cool, but... by ArhcAngel · 2009-10-15 04:00 · Score: 5, Funny

n00b

--
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
Re:so? by kalirion · 2009-10-15 04:00 · Score: 5, Funny

Great,everyone starts using the new largest known prime number in their private key! That's like SUPER secure!
What a wasted opportunity by y5 · 2009-10-15 04:32 · Score: 5, Funny

They could have made the reward $100,003 instead...
1. Re:What a wasted opportunity by bitt3n · 2009-10-15 04:54 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  They could have made the reward $100,003 instead...
  yeah, brilliant idea. next day's headline would be "Five Mathematicians Slain in Argument Over Division of Prize Money"
  
  --
  how many pairs of boxer shorts should you own?