Keywords: number theory, prime numbers
Prerequisites: 01018: Discrete Mathematics 2
The prime numbers are the most enigmatic objects of number theory: countless volumes of fascinating mathematics have been produced in the search for truly understanding their nature. Though we are still far from having achieved that lofty goal, we now know quite a bit.
This project deals with how prime numbers are distributed: if you choose a random number with 10 digits, what are the odds that it is prime?
Apart from being a central question in number theory, it is important in computer-driven application of discrete mathematics, e.g. cryptography and coding theory, where huge primes often needs to be generated on the fly.