The Music of the Primes

“Why an Unsolved Problem in Mathematics Matters”

• 2005
• •
• Ended

• Documentary

For more than 2,000 years, a mathematical riddle has baffled the world’s greatest minds. It’s a problem of such difficulty that it has tormented those brave enough to tackle it. Some have given up in despair. Others have been driven mad. Primes are fundamental to mathematics yet they seem to surface entirely randomly along the number line. But are the primes truly random or is there some hidden pattern? It’s the greatest unsolved problem of mathematics. In The Music of the Primes, Marcus du Sautoy investigates the fascinating story of great mathematicians who have all grappled with the problem of the primes

Created by

Marcus du Sautoy

Seasons

1

Episodes

3

Episode length

~1h

First aired

Sep 28, 2005

Networks

BBC Four

Original language

English

Origin

United Kingdom