In nature, primes are the key to the survival of a strange species of insect. The prime-number cicadas hide in the ground for 17 years, then emerge en masse from the earth into the forest.
They sing loudly, eat, have sex, lay eggs and then die after six weeks of intensive partying. The forest goes quiet again for 17 years. But why did the cicadas choose 17, a prime number, for their hibernation?
Scientists believe there is a predator that likes to crash their party and also emerges periodically after a certain number of years. The cicadas found that by choosing a prime-number cycle for their party, they could keep out of step of the predator more often than if they'd chosen a non-prime such as For the cicadas, the primes aren't just some abstract curiosity, but the secret to their survival.
Perhaps Beckham, too, hopes that a prime-number shirt might help him avoid getting another stray flying football boot in the eye. Evolution might have helped the cicadas to find primes, but is there some pattern that can help Real Madrid to go on choosing primes for their growing selection of star players? Despite 2, years of scrutiny, mathematicians are stumped by the task of predicting when the next prime will occur.
Indeed, they have begun to suspect that there are no patterns. Two years ago a record big prime number with more than four million digits was discovered. It will always be possible to beat the current record, since the Ancient Greeks proved there are infinitely many prime numbers. Yet mathematicians have found no method that will help them to predict where to look for the next record prime. Present techniques share more in common with astronomers randomly trailing the sky for new supernovae.
Is this how Nature chose the primes? Nature, mathematicians believe, has chosen the primes randomly as if playing some game of prime-number lottery: 23 is, therefore, one of nature's lucky numbers.
Despite all the evidence that primes look random, we aren't sure whether, as we count higher and higher, some strange pattern might emerge.
The greatest unsolved problem of mathematics, called the Riemann Hypothesis discussed in A whirlpool of numbers from Issue 25 of Plus , is to understand why there don't seem to be any patterns in the primes. If you think all this stuff about primes is just some abstract game, then think again.
The fact that we don't fully understand the primes is at the heart of a very real-world application of prime numbers. Maths is the key Every time you use your credit card on the internet to buy a ticket to see Real Madrid play, your account is kept secret from hackers thanks to the power of prime numbers. Google Tag Manager. Skip to Content Skip to Navigation. Search Google Appliance Enter the terms you wish to search for.
Why Beckham chose the 23 shirt. Video Audio. Loading Video Audio Embed Code. Video Embed Code. The fourth baffled everyone. He decoded theories of mathematicians as diverse as Euclid and Gauss. But after he spoke about wave frequencies and sound production in various musical instruments, he unexpectedly picked up a trumpet and played a few bars.
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