They are the building
block of all numbers. Think of a number. Is it
prime? If not, you can write it as two smaller
numbers multiplied together. Eventually by dividing
and dividing we get to numbers which can’t
be divided any more: the primes. They are the
indivisible numbers – the atoms of arithmetic.
Every number can be written as primes multiplied
together. For example 30 = 2 x 3 x 5. The primes
2,3 and 5 are like hydrogen, helium and lithium,
the first three atoms in the Periodic Table.
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