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There are infinitely many prime numbers

Last updated: 31-08-2026

Reductio ad absurdum (Proof by negation):

Assume there are N primes.

Let the prime numbers be P1, P2, P3, … PN where PN is the largest prime number.

Construct the number P1 * P2 * P3 * … * PN + 1.

This number is not divisible by P1, P2 … PN, since there is always a remainder of 1.

Therefore no matter how high a prime we find, we can construct a number larger (much larger) than that one.

Incidentally, this also gives us a way to construct prime numbers.