Longtime readers know we occasionally dabble in prime numbers and sometimes also history. That's why this super short Numberphile video leapt out at us in our YouTube feed, because it combines the two.
In the video, Brady Haran tracks down a copy of Marin Mersenne's 1644 book Cogitata Physico-Mathematica at the Royal Society, in which he listed the prime numbers associated with the formula 2n - 1, which have since become synonymous with his name. But, as Brady quickly identifies, Mersenne made a couple of mistakes in his published list. Here's the video:
If you would like to read Mersenne's book in the original Latin (or would like to read an English translation of it, Luke Welsh has got you covered!
Almost four centuries later, we know of just 52 Mersenne primes. When and where do you suppose they'll discover the next one?
Labels: math
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