A Mersenne number is a number of the form 2n-1. When this number is prime, it is known as a Mersenne prime.
A Mersenne prime has the form 2n-1. For 2n-1 to be prime, n must also be prime. Examples are the Mersenne prime 7 (23 - 1 = 7) and the Mersenne prime 127 (27 - 1 = 127)
Chat with our AI personalities
The first four Mersenne prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, and 7.
Perfect numbers have the form 2n-1(2n-1) where 2n-1 is a Mersenne prime. When a new Mersenne prime is discovered, so is a new perfect number.
There is a one-to-one relationship between even perfect numbers and Mersenne primes. It is unknown whether there are any odd perfect numbers.
A Mersenne number is a number that can be written as 2n - 1. A Mersenne prime is a Mersenne number that is a prime number. Here are some Mersenne primes: 22 - 1 = 3 23 - 1 = 7 25 - 1 = 31 27 - 1 = 127
It is, as of now, an open question whether there are a finite or an infinite number of Mersenne primes. At the beginning of the 21st century there were 47 known Mersenne primes, the highest being 43,112,609.