Largest known prime number

Apr 19, 2026 - 11:01
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Largest known prime number

← Previous revision Revision as of 05:29, 19 April 2026
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{{short description|none}}The '''largest known prime number''' {{as of|2026|lc=yes}} is {{nowrap|2136,279,841 − 1}}, a number that has 41,024,320 digits when written in the [[decimal]] system. It was found on October 12, 2024, on a cloud-based [[virtual machine]] volunteered by Luke Durant, a researcher from San Jose, California, to the [[Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search]] (GIMPS).{{cite web |title=GIMPS Project Discovers Largest Known Prime Number: 2136,279,841-1 |url=https://www.mersenne.org/primes/?press=M136279841 |date=21 October 2024 |work=Mersenne Research, Inc. |access-date=21 October 2024 }}{{Cite web |last1=Voight |first1=John |last2=Conversation |first2=The |title=A 41-million-digit prime number is the biggest ever found—but mathematicians' search for perfection will continue |url=https://phys.org/news/2024-11-million-digit-prime-biggest-mathematicians.html |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=phys.org |language=en}}
{{short description|none}}The '''largest known prime number''' {{as of|2026|lc=yes}} is {{nowrap|22 − 1}}, a number that has 41,024,320 digits when written in the [[decimal]] system. It was found on October 12, 2024, on a cloud-based [[virtual machine]] volunteered by Luke Durant, a researcher from San Jose, California, to the [[Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search]] (GIMPS).{{cite web |title=GIMPS Project Discovers Largest Known Prime Number: 2136,279,841-1 |url=https://www.mersenne.org/primes/?press=M136279841 |date=21 October 2024 |work=Mersenne Research, Inc. |access-date=21 October 2024 }}{{Cite web |last1=Voight |first1=John |last2=Conversation |first2=The |title=A 41-million-digit prime number is the biggest ever found—but mathematicians' search for perfection will continue |url=https://phys.org/news/2024-11-million-digit-prime-biggest-mathematicians.html |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=phys.org |language=en}}


[[File:Digits in largest prime found as a function of time.svg|thumb|400px|A plot of the number of digits in the largest known prime by year since the advent of the [[electronic computer]]. The vertical scale is [[logarithmic scale|logarithmic]].]]
[[File:Digits in largest prime found as a function of time.svg|thumb|400px|A plot of the number of digits in the largest known prime by year since the advent of the [[electronic computer]]. The vertical scale is [[logarithmic scale|logarithmic]].]]
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