The world belongs to the mathematicians and the physicists. We lay people may pump our minds with Discovery Channel specials, but they’re the ones who get to understand how it all really works–how the ...

Three and five are prime numbers — that is, they are divisible only by one and by themselves. So are five and seven. And 11 and 13. And for each of these pairs of prime numbers, the difference is two.

Thousands of computers across the world are currently scouring the number line in a scavenger hunt for rare mathematical gems. Enthusiasts looking for larger and larger prime numbers, which are ...