The basic idea behind the algorithm is to take a number, n, and through a series of passes, eliminate the non-prime numbers. What remains when you’re done is the set of primes you are after.

The online computer game “Is this prime?” tests a player’s knowledge of prime numbers—and just surpassed 2,999,999 attempts. Give it a whirl.

Prime numbers are whole numbers greater than 1 that are not divisible by any whole number other than 1 and itself. The first few are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 … ...

Prime numbers are fundamental to the most common type of encryption used today: the RSA algorithm. The RSA algorithm was named after the three mathematicians who first publicly unveiled it in 1977.

Prime numbers can only be divided by themselves and 1. Figuring out which numbers are prime can be tricky, so mathematicians have developed various algorithms to speed up the search .

A million-dollar puzzle relating to prime numbers could be tackled using only a mid-sized quantum computer. There is a race to find ever bigger primes, but no way to predict when the next one will ...