Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin
An Exact Formula for the Primes: Willans' Formula (youtube.com)
2 points by AareyBaba on Nov 2, 2022 | hide | past | favorite | 2 comments


When the solution requires more work than exhaustively examining all possibilities - is that really the answer ?


To what question?

I think this currently is a mathematical curiosity, but you never know whether it might lead to a better understanding of the prime numbers, a faster factorization algorithm, or whatever.

An IMO more interesting curiosity is Mill’s constant “the smallest positive real number A such that the floor function of the double exponential function ⌊A^3^n⌋ is a prime number for all natural numbers n” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mills%27_constant)

(I think it’s more interesting because of the simplicity of the formula. On the negative side, it doesn’t generate all primes)

(https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Formula_for_primes has more curious formulas)




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: