Tag Archives: new

A simple proof of the quadratic formula

Posted on December 23, 2019 by Brent

If you’re reading this blog you have probably memorized (or used to have memorized) the quadratic formula, which can be used to solve quadratic equations of the form But do you know how to derive the formula? Usually the derivation … Continue reading →

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New Mersenne prime

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Brent

With impeccable timing, just in the middle of my series about primality testing, a new Mersenne prime has been announced, a little under two years after the previous one. In particular, it has been shown that is prime; this is … Continue reading →

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M74207281 is prime!

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Brent

I’m a bit late to the party, but the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search has recently announced a newly verified prime number, , with a whopping 22,338,618 decimal digits! This is now the largest known prime number (though of course … Continue reading →

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