Fortunate number Fortunate number A Fortunate number, named after Reo Fortune, is the smallest integer "m" > 1 such that, for a given positive integer "n", "p"# + "m" is a prime number, where the primorial "p"# is the product of the first "n" prime numbers. For example, to find the seventh Fortunate number, one would first calculate the product of the first seven primes (2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 and 17), which is 510510. Adding 2 to that gives another even number, while adding 3 would give another multiple of 3. One would similarly rule out the integers up to
Prime number prime and composite numbers. However, the earliest surviving records of the explicit study of prime numbers come from Ancient Greek mathematics. Euclid's "Elements" (circa 300 BC) proves the infinitude of primes and the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, and shows how to construct a perfect number from a Mersenne prime. Another Greek invention, the Sieve of Eratosthenes, is still used to construct lists of primes. Around 1000 AD, the Islamic mathematician Alhazen found Wilson's theorem, characterizing the prime numbers as the numbers formula_1 that evenly divide formula_17. Alhazen also conjectured that all even perfect numbers come from Euclid's construction using Mersenne