I've found a formula that generates prime numbers! What shall I do?

Question

Basically ive found a formula that you can use and it ALWAYS generates a prime number. What shall I do?!!!!!!

Answer 1

Is it 6n -1 or +1, you are talking about, were n is a prime number, if not then you are really awesome, don't let anyone steal you're idea!

Young Nobel prize holder! :D

Answer 2

OMGOMOMG WHY DONT YOU SHARE IT WITH THE 1000+ PEOPLE WHO ARE AWARE OF THIS FORMULA :D :D !!@@@



here is another formula:



Here is Rowland's formula. We define a(1) = 7, and for n ≥ 2 we set



a(n) = a(n-1) + gcd(n,a(n-1)).



Here "gcd" means the greatest common divisor. So, for example, we find a(2) = a(1) + gcd(2,7) = 8. The prime generator is then a(n) - a(n-1), the so-called first differences of the original sequence.



For example, here are the first 23 values of the a sequence:

7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 33, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 69



and here are the first differences of these values:

1, 1, 1, 5, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 11, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 23



If we ignore the 1's, then, the Rowland formula starts by generating the primes 5, 3, 11, 3 (again), and 23. The reader can easily program up the formula and find lots more primes. Removing duplicates, the first few are

5, 3, 11, 23, 47, 101, 7, 13, 233, 467, 941, 1889, 3779, 7559, 15131, 53, 30323, ...

Answer 3

Most are trolling, and there's no nobel prize for mathematics, there are other great prizes in math though, with loads of them around the subject of prime numbers, it's good to try, and if you happen to find something I'd suggest trying to contact a University math professor and ask him what to do, or to try to publish a paper on the subject...



Having said that, it's really unlikely to have discovered an easy formula because number theorists have been working on that for thousands of years, there are many patters you can notice that would seem like you discovered something fantastic, for example you can notice that if (2^ (n -1)) % n = 1 then n is prime, which is a part of a much more general primality test discovered more than 100 years ago, and not so easy to use because it involves factoring a much larger number than the original.



So the first thing I suggest to do is search the internet for primality tests and prime patters, it's almost certain you'll find what you discovered. If you can't find anything, and don't want to share your secret because you think you have something awesome, try consulting a Number theorist or a university Mathematician.



I'm not letting you down, even if that one turns out to be old or wrong... you're learning something along the way, and you might discover something huge one day.

Answer 4

it cannot be a polynomial function. that's the main problem. there are very awkward type of formulas that do generate primes, but they cannot be used in proofs, because they have such weird notation. They are based on computer programming.

Answer 5

There is a price (approx GBP10,000) to find the largest prime number.

Use your formula and claim, but be warned you will need to find in excess of a 12 million digit number.

Answer 6

Go get your nobel prize. Hurry!



or wait...



....is it: n² - n + 41 ?



that doesn't work for n=41 as 41^2 - 41 + 41 = 41^2 = 41*41 = no prime number, sorry :)

Answer 7

There are already a bunch of formulas for the primes. You can find them here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_for_prime_numbers

Answer 8

Don't be foolish. There is no formula to calculate all of the prime numbers. The german mathematician Riemann attempted that and he wasn't able to do it. And he was one of the best mathematicians that we know.

Answer 9

It's not original. I found it first. The proof is marvelous but too long to write here.

Answer 10

Go to the department of education... And make a money out of it...

Answer 11

Share it with me and we shall crack the lotto and euromillion go on!!

Answer 12

Did you divide by itself and add one? Cos i'm not gonna lie, that won't get you much money.

Answer 13

OMG!....................YOU ARE AWWWEEE SOOMMEEEEE....................THE GREATEST MATHEMATICIAN............CALL UP OBAMA TO TELL HIM ABOUT THIS GREAT ACHIEVEMENT.........

Answer 14

BS