This text originated as a lecture delivered November 20, 1984, at Queen's University, in the undergraduate colloquium series established to honour Professors A. J. Coleman and H. W. Ellis and to acknowledge their long-lasting interest in the quality of teaching undergraduate students. In another colloquium lecture, my colleague Morris Orzech, who had consulted the latest edition of the Guinness Book oj Records, reminded me very gently that the most "innumerate" people of the world are of a certain tribe in Mato Grosso, Brazil. They do not even have a word to express the number "two" or the concept of plurality. "Yes Morris, I'm from Brazil, but my book will contain numbers different from 'one.' " He added that the most boring 800-page book is by two Japanese mathematicians (whom I'll not name), and consists of about 16 million digits of the number 11. "I assure you Morris, that in spite of the beauty of the apparent randomness of the decimal digits of 11, I'll be sure that my text will also include some words." Acknowledgment. The manuscript of this book was prepared on the word processor by Linda Nuttall. I wish to express my appreciation for the great care, speed, and competence of her work. Paulo Ribenboim CONTENTS Preface vii Guiding the Reader xiii Index of Notations xv Introduction Chapter 1. How Many Prime Numbers Are There? 3 I. Euclid's Proof 3 II.

This text originated as a lecture delivered November 20, 1984, at Queen's University, in the undergraduate colloquium senes. In another colloquium lecture, my colleague Morris Orzech, who had consulted the latest edition of the Guinness Book of Records, reminded me very gently that the most "innumerate" people of the world are of a certain trible in Mato Grosso, Brazil. They do not even have a word to express the number "two" or the concept of plurality. "Yes, Morris, I'm from Brazil, but my book will contain numbers different from ·one.''' He added that the most boring 800-page book is by two Japanese mathematicians (whom I'll not name) and consists of about 16 million decimal digits of the number Te. "I assure you, Morris, that in spite of the beauty of the appar ent randomness of the decimal digits of Te, I'll be sure that my text will include also some words." And then I proceeded putting together the magic combina tion of words and numbers, which became The Book of Prime Number Records. If you have seen it, only extreme curiosity could impel you to have this one in your hands. The New Book of Prime Number Records differs little from its predecessor in the general planning. But it contains new sections and updated records.

This text originated as a lecture delivered November 20, 1984, at Queen's University, in the undergraduate colloquim series established to honor Professors A. J. Coleman and H. W. Ellis and to acknow ledge their long lasting interest in the quality of teaching under graduate students. In another colloquim lecture, my colleague Morris Orzech, who had consulted the latest edition of the Guilllless Book oj Records, remainded me very gently that the most "innumerate" people of the world are of a certain tribe in Mato Grosso, Brazil. They do not even have a word to express the number "two" or the concept of plurality. "Yes Morris, I'm from Brazil, but my book will contain numbers different from 'one.' " He added that the most boring 800-page book is by two Japanese mathematicians (whom I'll not name), and consists of about 16 million digits of the number 11. "I assure you Morris, that in spite of the beauty of the apparent randomness of the decimal digits of 11, I'll be sure that my text will include also some words." Acknowledgment. The manuscript of this book was prepared on the word processor by Linda Nuttall. I wish to express my appreciation for the great care, speed, and competence of her work.

A deep understanding of prime numbers is one of the great challenges in mathematics. In this new edition, fundamental theorems, challenging open problems, and the most recent computational records are presented in a language without secrets. The impressive wealth of material and references will make this book a favorite companion and a source of inspiration to all readers. Paulo Ribenboim is Professor Emeritus at Queen's University in Canada, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and recipient of the George Pólya Award of the Mathematical Association of America. He is the author of 13 books and more than 150 research articles. From the reviews of the First Edition: Number Theory and mathematics as a whole will benefit from having such an accessible book exposing advanced material. There is no question that this book will succeed in exciting many new people to the beauty and fascination of prime numbers, and will probably bring more young people to research in these areas. (Andrew Granville, Zentralblatt)

Bridges the gap between theoretical and computational aspects of prime numbers Exercise sections are a goldmine of interesting examples, pointers to the literature and potential research projects Authors are well-known and highly-regarded in the field

The Pulitzer Prize–winning magazine’s stories of mathematical explorations show that inspiration strikes haphazardly, revealing surprising solutions and exciting discoveries—with a foreword by James Gleick These stories from Quanta Magazine map the routes of mathematical exploration, showing readers how cutting-edge research is done, while illuminating the productive tension between conjecture and proof, theory and intuition. The stories show that, as James Gleick puts it in the foreword, “inspiration strikes willy-nilly.” One researcher thinks of quantum chaotic systems at a bus stop; another suddenly realizes a path to proving a theorem of number theory while in a friend's backyard; a statistician has a “bathroom sink epiphany” and discovers the key to solving the Gaussian correlation inequality. Readers of The Prime Number Conspiracy, says Quanta editor-in-chief Thomas Lin, are headed on “breathtaking intellectual journeys to the bleeding edge of discovery strapped to the narrative rocket of humanity's never-ending pursuit of knowledge.” Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, Quanta is the only popular publication that offers in-depth coverage of the latest breakthroughs in understanding our mathematical universe. It communicates mathematics by taking it seriously, wrestling with difficult concepts and clearly explaining them in a way that speaks to our innate curiosity about our world and ourselves. Readers of this volume will learn that prime numbers have decided preferences about the final digits of the primes that immediately follow them (the “conspiracy” of the title); consider whether math is the universal language of nature (allowing for “a unified theory of randomness”); discover surprising solutions (including a pentagon tiling proof that solves a century-old math problem); ponder the limits of computation; measure infinity; and explore the eternal question “Is mathematics good for you?” Contributors Ariel Bleicher, Robbert Dijkgraaf, Kevin Hartnett, Erica Klarreich, Thomas Lin, John Pavlus, Siobhan Roberts, Natalie Wolchover Copublished with Quanta Magazine

What is the world's longest-living creature? Who was the first person to reach the bottom of the ocean? Where is the longest train route? This ebook is full of amazing facts about people, animals, Earth, and space, and brings you the first, fastest, longest, largest, biggest, and best records in the world! Track the longest shark migration (20,000 km/12,400 miles); visit the coolest place on the planet (Vostok Station, Antarctica: a chilling -89.2oC/-128.6oF); see how plane pioneer Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier, and much more. Discover the greatest human achievements, from pioneering inventors to modern feats of engineering, transport, technology, and sport. But there's far more than just people power in this ebook, there are also records about animals, plants, and our amazing natural world. Find out all about the best of everything in Record Breakers - an entertaining and educational ebook that the whole family can enjoy.