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Concept
Sieve of Eratosthenes
Summary
In mathematics, the sieve of Eratosthenes is an ancient algorithm for finding all prime numbers up to any given limit.
It does so by iteratively marking as composite (i.e., not prime) the multiples of each prime, starting with the first prime number, 2. The multiples of a given prime are generated as a sequence of numbers starting from that prime, with constant difference between them that is equal to that prime. This is the sieve's key distinction from using trial division to sequentially test each candidate number for divisibility by each prime. Once all the multiples of each discovered prime have been marked as composites, the remaining unmarked numbers are primes.
The earliest known reference to the sieve (κόσκινον Ἐρατοσθένους, kóskinon Eratosthénous) is in Nicomachus of Gerasa's Introduction to Arithmetic, an early 2nd cent. CE book which attributes it to Eratosthenes of Cyrene, a 3rd cent. BCE Greek mathematician, though describing the sieving by odd numbers instead of by primes.
One of a number of prime number sieves, it is one of the most efficient ways to find all of the smaller primes. It may be used to find primes in arithmetic progressions.
Sift the Two's and Sift the Three's:The Sieve of Eratosthenes.When the multiples sublime,The numbers that remain are Prime.
A prime number is a natural number that has exactly two distinct natural number divisors: the number 1 and itself.
To find all the prime numbers less than or equal to a given integer n by Eratosthenes' method:
Create a list of consecutive integers from 2 through n: (2, 3, 4, ..., n).
Initially, let p equal 2, the smallest prime number.
Enumerate the multiples of p by counting in increments of p from 2p to n, and mark them in the list (these will be 2p, 3p, 4p, ...; the p itself should not be marked).
Find the smallest number in the list greater than p that is not marked. If there was no such number, stop. Otherwise, let p now equal this new number (which is the next prime), and repeat from step 3.
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