A New Prime Number Has Been Discovered

Researchers at the University of Central Missouri have announced the discovery of a new prime number. Former algebra students will remember that prime numbers are divisible only by 1 and themselves (without leaving any remainder). Want to see the newly uncovered prime, break out your TI-83 and test it for yourself? Sorry, the number is 17 million digits long, and it took 1,000 computers working around the clock to find it. So go back to using that graphing calculator for something useful, like playing Tetris. Computer science and mathematics professor Curtis Cooper, who led the effort, said, “I kind of consider it like climbing Mount Everest or finding a really rare diamond or landing somebody on the moon. It’s an accomplishment.” That’s right, this is exactly like finding a rare diamond on the moon …