The longest known prime number is 24,862,048 digits long
© Getty / Sadagi Mushrif
Prime numbers aren’t the easiest topic in maths because there isn’t an obvious pattern to follow in finding the next number in the series. Prime numbers are only divisible by themselves and one. They’re essential in internet security. Two large prime numbers are multiplied together to get a very large number known as an encrypted code. This code can be publicly known on the internet because it would take too long for a person or computer to work out the original code and gain access to someone’s private information.