Story Prime

What are the practical uses of prime numbers in everyday life?

We all learned about prime numbers in math. I believe they are used in encrption technology, but I don't know how. Whay purpose(s) do prime numbers serve? What are some of the common uses for prime numbers in every day life and business? What is the significance of large prime numbers, other than they get harder and harder to find?

Public Comments

1. The government uses prime numbers to hand out stipends, that way there is always a remainder which they can collect back. :) Prime numbers are also good for encryptions because to hack it a common method is to use addition subtraction, and other elementary operators which can be difficult with prime number codes. Prime numbers are essentially a novelty. What is the use of 6? or 12? or 18? They are just numbers that fall into a certain category. Someone recognized their similarity and it applies to only mathematical models.