Prime Numbers: The Most Mysterious Figures in Math

Prime Numbers: The Most Mysterious Figures in Math
by: David Wells (Author)
Publisher:John Wiley & Sons
Edition:First Edition
Publication Date: 10 Jun. 2005
Language:English
Print Length:288 pages
ISBN-10:0471462349
ISBN-13:9780471462347
Book Description
A fascinating journey into the mind–bending world of prime numbers Cicadas of the genus Magicicada appear once every 7, 13, or 17 years. Is it just a coincidence that these are all prime numbers? How do twin primes differ from cousin primes, and what on earth (or in the mind of a mathematician) could be sexy about prime numbers? What did Albert Wilansky find so fascinating about his brother–in–law′s phone number? Mathematicians have been asking questions about prime numbers for more than twenty–five centuries, and every answer seems to generate a new rash of questions. In Prime Numbers: The Most Mysterious Figures in Math, you′ll meet the world′s most gifted mathematicians, from Pythagoras and Euclid to Fermat, Gauss, and Erd?o?s, and you′ll discover a host of unique insights and inventive conjectures that have both enlarged our understanding and deepened the mystique of prime numbers. This comprehensive, A–to–Z guide covers everything you ever wanted to know––and much more that you never suspected––about prime numbers, including: ∗ The unproven Riemann hypothesis and the power of the zeta function ∗ The “Primes is in P” algorithm ∗ The sieve of Eratosthenes of Cyrene ∗ Fermat and Fibonacci numbers ∗ The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search ∗ And much, much more
About the Author