These Are the 10 Hardest Math Problems Ever Solved: The Prime Number Theorem [7]

There are plenty of theorems about prime numbers. One of the simplest facts—that there are infinitely many prime numbers—can even be adorably fit into haiku form./span>

The Prime Number Theorem is more subtle; it describes the distribution of prime numbers along the number line. More precisely, it says that, given a natural number N, the number of primes below N is approximately N/log(N) ... with the usual statistical subtleties to the word “approximately” there.

Drawing on mid-19th-century ideas, two mathematicians, Jacques Hadamard and Charles Jean de la Vallée Poussin, independently proved the Prime Number Theorem in 1898. Since then, the proof has been a popular target for rewrites, enjoying many cosmetic revisions and simplifications. But the impact of the theorem has only grown.

The usefulness of the Prime Number Theorem is huge. Modern computer programs that deal with prime numbers rely on it. It’s fundamental to primality testing methods, and all the cryptology that goes with that.

Πηγή: popularmechanics