Section: STEM · MathematicsDifficulty: Easy
Prime Number
USUK
A natural number greater than 1 divisible only by 1 and itself.
Also: prime
Definition
A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that has exactly two distinct positive divisors: 1 and itself. Prime numbers are the building blocks of all integers, as stated by the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, which guarantees a unique prime factorization for every integer greater than 1. The distribution of primes is studied in number theory, and primes are critical to modern cryptography.
Example
“The RSA encryption algorithm that secures online banking transactions relies on the fact that multiplying two very large prime numbers is computationally easy, while factoring the product back into those primes is computationally infeasible.”
Synonyms
- prime
- prime integer
- indivisible number
Antonyms / Opposites
- composite number
Images
CC-licensed · free to useLoading images…
Video
Related Terms
- Number Theory
- Cryptography
- Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic
- Modular Arithmetic