Prvočísla - Dlouhá cesta do nekonečna – Gracián Enrique (2017)

The world of prime numbers has fascinated mathematicians for millennia. Their definition could not be simpler and is known by every schoolchild: "A prime number is a number that is divisible only by one and itself." However, in mathematical theory, they play an extraordinarily important role, much like atoms in chemistry – just as every molecule is uniquely composed of atoms, every number can also be uniquely expressed as a product of prime numbers. Yet their role does not end there, and primes unpredictably poke their heads into mathematical fields that seemingly have nothing to do with number theory. The study of prime numbers was, until recent decades, purely an academic affair, known as pure mathematics. However, it was then discovered that the complexity of the task "factor a number into prime factors" increases so sharply with larger numbers that this property can be used to create nearly unsolvable ciphers with many desirable properties – and since then, the greatest banks, armies, and intelligence agencies around the world have been literally fighting over experts in prime numbers. Thus, we unknowingly encounter profound results from the study of prime numbers with every phone call, ATM withdrawal, or banking operation.