Music of the Primes
Chapter 1
Prime numbers have puzzled mathematicians for centuries. They are the most
fundamental numbers in mathematics, because any integer can be formed by multiplying
primes together. Yet no one has proven that there is a pattern for them. Mathematicians
cannot accept that something so fundamental to their well-ordered field could be random;
however, prime numbers appear to be randomly ordered. The Riemann Hypothesis is a
pattern for the primes that, although unproven, has become essenstial to much of
mathematics. Many mathematicians have simply taken the Riemann Hypothesis as true,
and used it to derive other results. The Riemann Hypothesis involves looking at the
numbers in an entirely different way, allowing one to easily discern a pattern for the
primes. The proof of the Riemann Hypothesis is so important to mathematicians that
most of them were willing to believe Enrico Bombieri (an expert on the Riemann
Hypothesis) when he e-mailed mathematicians across the globe that the Riemann
Hypothesis had been proven. Many did not note that his reference to "morons" as
physical particles made the e-mail suspicious. The e-mail turned out to be an April Fool's
joke, but showed how eager mathematicians are for a proof to Riemann's Hypothesis. The
person who proves Riemann's Hypothesis will be immortalized in history, and will open
up new areas of mathematics to be explored.