The Music of the Primes

Why an Unsolved Problem in Mathematics Matters

2005•1h 0m

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

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Production

BBC

Language

Status

Ended

First Aired

September 28, 2005

Last Aired

October 12, 2005

Networks

BBC Four

Created By

Marcus du Sautoy

Where to Watch

Region US · Lang EN

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Seasons & Episodes

Select a season to view episodes. Reddit links may contain spoilers.

Season

Numbers

Air date: 2005-09-28

What are primes and how do they affect us? Trace the prime number theorem back through history, highlighting the work of some of the greatest mathematical minds along the way. From Euclid to Carl Friedrich Gauss, who at 15 years of age helped uncover some of the mysteries of the prime.

Gauss, Riemann

Air date: 2005-10-05

Join Bernhard Riemann in his extrodinary new mathmatical world, and discover the dramatic implications his journey would have in the quest for the music of the primes.

Alan Turing, Riemann Hypothesis

Air date: 2005-10-12

Discover how mathmations have used the power of the computer to try and crack the mystery of the primes.