Guardians of Grail

cheapbag214s · Posted: Fri 16:52, 22 Nov 2013 Post subject: 2 to the power of "p" minus one

Networked computers compute 17-million digit prime number
WARRENSBURG, Mo., Feb. 6 () -- Thousands of volunteers, and their computers, have determined the largest prime number found to date -- a 17 million digit number -- a U.S. researcher says.University of Central Missouri Professor Curtis Cooper, who heads the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search,[url=http://www.moncleroutleto.co.uk]moncler uk[/url], or GIMPS, announced the find, CNET reported Wednesday.A prime number is divisible only by itself and the number 1. Mersenne primes are named after a French monk born in 1588 who described a particular class of prime number, 2 to the power of "p" minus one, in which "p" is an ordinary prime number.The newly discovered prime is 2 to the power of 57,885,161 minus 1 and is 17,425,170 digits long.It's the 48th Mersenne prime so far discovered. The GIMPS project has found the 14 largest Mersenne primes.A $3,[url=http://www.moncleroutleto.co.uk]moncler outlet[/url],000 prize has been awarded to Cooper for the discovery, but prime number hunting could get more lucrative in the future -- the Electronic Frontier Foundation has announced a $150,000 award for the discoverer of the first prime number of 100 million digits or more.Cooper and his prime-hunting network of volunteers and their computers previously found record primes in 2005 and 2006.