Which is the largest prime numberSolutionIf you are referrin

Which is the largest prime number?

Solution

If you are referring to the largest \"known\" prime number, presently it is 2^ 37,156,667-1, an 11,185,272 digit number which was found in Sep 2008 by Hans-Michael Elvenich in Langenfeld near Cologne, Germany.

Any prime number can be expressed in the form 2^p - 1, where p is also a prime, though it is not necessary that every number of the form 2^p - 1, where p is a prime is a prime number.

The numbers of the form 2^p -1 are known as Mersenne prime numbers. With an increasing ability to harness large amounts of computing power it is now possible to calculate larger prime numbers which are Mersenne prime numbers.