GENERAL I ARTICLE

On the Infinitude of the Prime Numbers

Euler's Proof

Shailesh A Shirali

Euclid's elegant proof that there are infinitely many prime

numbers is well known. Euler proved the same result, in fact
a stronger one, by a1Ullyticalmethods. This Bfticlegives an
exposition of Euler's proof introducing the necessary con-
cepts along the way.

Shailesh Shira1i Introduction

has been at the
Rishi Valley School In this article, we present Euler's very beautiful proof that there
(Krisboamurti Foundation
are infinitely many prime numbers. In an earlier era, Euclid had
oflDclia),Rishi Valley,
Andhra Pradesh, for more proved this result in a simple yet elegant manner. His idea is easy
than tea years and is to describe.Denotingthe primenumbersbyP1,P2,P3'... , sothat
eurrendy the PrincipaL He p}= 2,P2 = 3,p3 = 5, on, he supposes that there are n primes in
has been involved in the
all, the largest being PII.He then considers the number N where
Mathematical Olympiad
Programme since 1988.
N = P}P2P3 onp,.+1,
He has a deep interest in
talking and writiDgabout and asks what the prime factors of N could be. It is clear that N
mathematics, particularly
about its historical is indivisible by each of the primes PI' P2' P3' on,P,. (indeed,
aspects. He is also N:=I(modPi)for each i, 1 :s;i :s;n). Since every integer greater than
interested in problem 1 has a prime factorization, this forces into existence prime
soIviDg(particularly in the
numbers other than the Pi. Thus there can be no largest prime
fields of elementary
number theory, geometry number, and so the number of primes is infinite.
and c:omblnatoric:a).
The underlying idea of Euler's proof is very different from that
of Euclid's proof. In essence, he proves that the sum of therecipro-
calsof theprimesis infinite; that is,
III
- + - + - + ... = 00.
PI P2 P3

Adapted from the articles

InS4MASY..t Vol.2No.1.2.

78 RESONANCEI ~arch 1996

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

In technicallanguage,the series ~j 1/Pjdiverges.Obviously,this Euler proved that the

cannot possibly happen if there are only finitely many prime sum of the reciprocals
numbers. The infinitude of the primes thus followsas a corollary. of the primes is ,

Note that Euler's result is stronger than Euclid's. infinite; the infinitude
of the primes thus
Convergence and Divergence follows as a corollary.

A few words are necessary to explain the concepts of convergence

and divergence of infmite series. A series a} +az + a3 + . .. is
said to converge if the sequence of partial sums,

approaches some limiting value, say L; we write, in this case,

Li aj = L . If, instead, the sequence of partial sums grows with-
out any bound, we say that the series diverges,and we write, in
short, L i aj = 00. A statement of the form I: 0,
= 00is to be regarded as mere-
ly a short form for the state-
Examples: ment thatthe sums 01' 0, + 02.
01'+02+' 03' do not possess
any limit. It is important to note
. The series1/1+ 1/2+ 1/4+ ... t: 1/2n + . .. converges (the
that is not to be regarded as
00

sum is 2, as is easily shown). a number! We shall however

. The series 1/1 + 1/3 + 1/9 + . . . + 1/3n+ . . . converges (the frequently use phrases of the
sum in this case is 3/2). type', x = 00'Ifor various quanti-
ties xl during the course of this
. The series1+ 1+ 1+ . .. diverges (rather trivially). article. The meaning should be
. The series 1-1 + 1-1 + 1-1 + 1- . .. also fails to converge, be- clear from the context.

cause the partial sums assume the values 1,0, 1,0, 1;0, ..., and
this sequence clearly does not possess a limit.
. A more interesting example: 1 - 1/2 + 1/3 - 1/4 + ... ; a careful
analysis shows that it too is convergent, the limiting sum being
In 2 (the natural logarithm of 2)

Divergence of the Harmonic Series .:E Iii

In order to prove Euler's result, namely, the divergence of ~ 1/p,.,

we need to establish various subsidiary results. Along the way we

RESONANCEI March 1996 79

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

shall meet other examples of divergent series. To start with, we

present the proof of the statement that

1 1 1 1
-+-+-+
1 2 3 4
=00
.
This rather non-obvious result is usually referred to as thediver-
gena of the harmonicseries.The proof given below is due to the
Frenchman Nicolo Oresme and it dates to about 1350.We note
the following sequence of equalities and inequalities:

1 1
2 = 2'
1 1 1 1 1
-+->-+-=-
3 4 4 4 2'
The earliest
1 111 1 1 111
known proof of the
-+-+-+->-+-+-+-=-
5 6 7 8 8 8 8 2' 8
divergence of the 11 111 11
harmonic series is due 9 + 10 + ... + 16 > 16 + 16 + ... + 16 = 2'
to the Frenchman
Nicolo Oresme and it and so on. This shows that it is possible to group consecutive sets
dates to about 1350. of terms of the series 1/1 + 1/2 + 1/3 + . . . in such a manner that
each group has a sum exceeding 1/2. Since the number of such
groups is infinite, it follows that the sum of the whole series is
itself infinite. (Note the crisp and decisive natUre of the proof!)

Based on this proo~ we make a more precise statement. Let S(n)

denote the sum

1 1 1 1
-+-+-+... +-
1 2 3 n'

e.g., S(3) = 11/6. Generalizing from the reasoning just used, we

find that

n (3.1)
S(2") > 1 + 2.

80 RESONANCE I March 1996

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

(Please fill in the details of the proof on your own.) This means
that by choosing n to be large enough, the value of S(2") can be
made to exceed any given bound. For instance, if we wanted the
sum to exceed 100, then.(3.1) assures us that a mere i98terms
would suffice! This suggests the extreme slowness of growth of
S(n) with n. Nevertheless it does grow without bound; loosely
stated, S( 00) = 00.

The result obtained above, (3.1), can also be written in the form,

Exercise:,!rite out
__ a proof
u _of_the
_ __above
_ inequality.

A much more accurate statement can be made, but"it involves

calculus. We consider the curve.Q whose equation is y = l/x,
The growth of 5 (nl
x >0. The area of the region enclosed by .0, the x-axis and the
with n is extremely
ordinates x = 1 and x = n is equal to r1 !x dx, which simplifies slow. Forthe sum to
exceed 100 we
to In n. Now let the region be divided into (n - 1) strips of unit would require 2198
width by the lines x = 1, x = 2, x = 3, . . . , x = n (see Figure 1). terms!

FlgUffI 1 7htI flgUffI Iht1w6

htJw to bound In n by 011-
MJI'VIng tht1t In n /$1hB IIIWI
x IJI7dostJd by IhB t:UnIe Y =
2 3 4
11%IhB x l1nd IhB tll'dl-
11III8 x = 1 IInd x = n.

RESONANCE I March 1996 81

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

Consider the region enclosed by Q, the x-axis, and the lines x =

i -I, x =i. The area of this region lies between 1/i and 1/(i-1),
because it can be enclosed between two rectangles of dimen-
sions 1 x l/i and lx1/(i - 1), respectively. (A quick exAmination
of the graph will show why this is true.) By lettingi take the values
2, 3, 4, . . . , n, and adding the inequalities thus obtained, we find
that
1 1 1 1 1 1
-+-+... +-<lnn<-+-+ + -. (3.2)
2 3 n 1 2 n-l

Relation (3.2) implies that

1 1 1. 1
lnn +-<-+-+-+...+-<lnn+l 1 (3.3)
n 1 2 3 n

and this means that we have an estimate for S(n) (namely, In n +

0.5) that differs from the actual value by no more than 0.5. A still
In general, when
mathematicians find deeper analysis shows that for large values of n, an excellent
approximation forS(n) is In n + 0.577,but weshall not prove this
that a series L a I
result here. It is instructive, however, to check the accuracy of this
diverges, they are
also curious to know estimate.WriteJ{n)forIn,n+ 0.577.We now find the following:
how fast it diverges.
n= 10 100 1000 10000 100000
S(n) = 2.92897 5.18738 7.48547 9.78761 12.0902 .

f(n)= 2.87959 5.18217 7.48476 9.78734 12.0899

The closeness of the values ofJ{n)and S(n) for large values of n is

striking. (The constant 0.577 is related to what is known as the
Euler-Mascheroni constant.)

In general, when mathematicians find that a series 1:ajdiverges,

they are also curious to know how fast it diverges. That is, they
wish to find Ii function, say f (n), such that the ratio
(L 1" aj ) / f (n) tends to 1 as n ~ 00.For the harmonic series 1:1/i,
we see that one such function is given by f (n) = In n. This is
usuallyexpressedby sayingthat theharmonicseriesdivergeslike
the logarithmicfunction.We note in passingthat this is a very

82 RESONANCE I March 1996

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

slow rate of divergence, because In n diverges more slowly than

n£ for any £ > 0, no matter how smaU £ is, in the sense that
In n / n£ ~ 0 as n ~ 00for every £ > o. Obviously the function In
In n diverges still more slowly.

Exercise: Prove that if a > 1, then the series

converges. (The conclusion holds no matter how closea is to

1, but it does not hold for a = 1 or a < 1, a curious state of
affairs!) Further, use the methods of integral calculus (and ~

thefact that for a ::I;

1, the integral onh! is X(l-ll)
/(1 - a) to
show that the sum of the series lies between 1I(a-1) and
a/(a
" '< -~ 1).
=

The fact that the sum

The fact that the sum 1/1 + 1122 + "1132 + . .. is finitecanbe 1/12 + 1/22 +1/32 + ...

shown in another manner that is both elegant and e1emen~: is finite can be shown
We start with the inequalities, 22> 1 x 2, 32> 2 x 3,42 > 3 x 4, in a manner that is
. . " and deduce from these that
both elegant and
1 1 1 1 1 1 elementary.
1 +-+-+-+...< 1 +-+-+-+...
22 32 42 1x 2 2x 3 3x4

The sum on the right side can be written in the form,

1 ! _ ! ! _ ! ! _ ! ... (3.4)
+ 1 2 + 2 3 + 3 4 + ,
( ) ( ) ( )
which (after a whole feast of cancellations) simplifies to 1 + 1/1,
that is, to 2.(This is sometimes described by stating that the series
'telescopes' to 2.) Therefore the sum 1 + 1122+ 1132+ 1142+. . .
is less than 2.We now call upon a theorem of analysis which states
that if the partial sums of any series form an increasing sequence
and are at the same time bounded, that is, they do not exceedsome
fixed number, then they possess a limit. We conclude, therefore,
that the series 1: 1Ii2does possess a finite sum which lies between
1 and 2.

RESONANCEI March 1996 83

 GENERALI ARnCLE

The divergence of the harmonic series was independendy proved

by Johann Bernoulli in 1689 in a completely different manner.
His proof is worthy of deep study, as it shows the counter-intui-
tive nature of infinity.

Bernoulli starts by assuming that the series 112+ 113+ 1/4+.. .

(note that he starts with 112rather 111)does have a finite sum,
which he calls S. He now proceeds to derive a contradiction in
the following manner. He rewrites each term occurring inS thus:
121113111
3" =6 =6 + 6' "4= 12 = 12 + 12 + 12'. . . ,
and more generally,

1 n-l 1 1 1
-= = + +...+-,
n n(n-l) n(n-l) n(n-l) n(n-l)
The divergence of the
harmonic series with (n -1) fractions on the right side. Next he writes the resulting
was independently fractions in an array as shown below:
proved by 112 116 1112 1120 1130 1142 1156
Johann Bernoulli in
116 1112 1120 1130 1142 1156
1689 in a completely 1112 1120 1130 1142 1156
different manner. 1142
1/20 1130 1/56
1/30 1142 1156
1142 1156
1156

Note that the column sums are just the fractions .112,1/3, 114,
115, ... ; thus S is the sum of all the fractions occurring in the
array. Bernoulli now sums the rows using the telescoping tech-
. -
nique used above (see equation (3.4». Assigning symbols to the
row sums as shown below,
,
1111111
A =2"+6+12+ 20 + 30 + 42 + 56 + ...,
1 1 1 1 1 1
B =6 + 12+ 20 + 30 + 42 + 56 + ...,

84 RESONANCE I March 1996

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

1 1 1 1 1
C = 12 + 20 + 30 + 42 + 56 + " , ,
1 1 1 1
D = 20 + 30 + 42 + 56 + ...,

he finds that:

A = (1 - t) + (t - ~) + (~ - i) + (~ - t) + .,.
= 1,

B = (t - ~) + (~ - ~) + (i - t) + (t - ~) + .,.
1
= -,
2
Bernoulli's proof is
1 worthy of deep study,
C = 3' (arguing likewise),
as it shows the
counter-intuitive
1
D = 4' nature of infinity,

and so on. Thus the sumS, which wehad written in the form
A + B + C + D + "', turns outto be equal to

Now. this looks disappointing -- just as things were beginning to

look promising! We seem to have just recovered the original series
after a seriesof very complicatedsteps.But in fact somethingsignifi-
cant has happened: an extra '1' has entered the series. At the start
we had defmed S to be 1(2+ 113+ 1/4 + "'; now we find that S
equals 1 + 112+ 113+ 114+ . ". This means that S = S + 1.
However, no finite number can satisfy such an equation. Conclu-
sion:S = oo!

RESONANCEI March 1996 85

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

There are many other proofs of this beautiful result, but I shall
leave you with the pleasant task of coming up with them on your
own. Along the way you could set yourself the task ofproving ~at
each of the following sums diverge:

. 111+ 113+ 115+ 1/7 + 119+. . ';

. 111 + 1111 + 1121 + 1131 + 1141 + . . . ;
. 11a + lib + 1/c+ lid +. . .,wherea,b,c,d, ...,arethesuccessive

terms of any increasing arithmetic progression of positive real

numbers.

Elementary Results

The next result that we shall need is the so-called fundamental

The fundamental theorem of arithmetic: every positive integer greater than 1 can be
theorem of arithmetic expressedin precisely one way as a product ofprime numbers. We shall
states that every not prove this very basic theorem of number theory. For a proof,
positive integer greater please refer to any ofthe well-known texts on number theory, e.g.,
than one can be the text by Hardy and Wright, or the one by Niven and Zucker-
expressed in precisely mann.
one way as a product
of prime numbers. We shall also need the following rather elementary results: (i) if
k is any integer greater than 1, then
1 1 1 1 1
- = 1 + -+ - + - + - +...
1 - 14 k k2 k3 k4 '
which followsby summing the geometric series on the right side,
and (ii) if aj , bj are any quantities, then

where, in the sum on the right, each pair of indices (i, J) occurs
precisely once.

Now consider the following two equalities, which are obtained

from (4.1) using the values k = 2,k = 3:

86 RESONANCE I March 1996

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

1 1 1 1 1
- = 1 + -+ - + - + - + '"
1- lJ2 2 22 23 .24 '

-=1 1 +-+
1 1
-+-+-+
1 1
....
1 - 113 3 32 33 34

We multiply together the corresponding sides of these two equa-

tions. On the left side we obtain 2 x 3/2 '=3.On the right side we
obtain the product

(1 + 1/2 + 1122+ 1/23 + . . .) x (1 + 113 + 1132+ 1133+ . . .)

Expanding the product, we obtain:

1 1 1 1 1 1
1 + - + - + - + ... + - + - + - + '"
2 4 8 3 9 27
We obtain a nice
1 1 1 1
1 1
+ (; + 12 + 24 + ... + 18 + 36 + 72 + ..., corollary: ifA denotes
the set of integers of
that is, we obtain the sum of the reciprocals of all the positive the form 2a3b, where
integers that have only 2 and 3 among their prime factors. The a and b are non-
fundamental theorem of arithmetic assures us that each such negative integers,
integer occurs precisely once in the sum on the right side. Thus we then
obtain a nice.corollary: ifA denotes the set of integers of the form L 1/z=3.
]!l3b,where a and b are non-negative integers, then ZEA

. 1
L
..eA
-; = 3.

ITwe multiply the left side of this relation by (1 + 1/5 + 1152+

1/53+ . . .) and the right side by 3;t1-1fs),
we obtain the following
result:

1 3 IS
L-=-=-'
. z l-l/s 4
Be B

. RESONANCE I March 1996 flI

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

where B denotes the set of integers of the form l' 3bS', where a, b
andc denotenon-negativeintegers.

Continuing this line of argument, we see that infinitely many

such statementScan be made, for example:

. If C denotesthe set of positive integers of the form l' 3bSCtI,

where a, b, c and d are non-negative integers, we then ~

have 1:zee 1/z = (IS/4) (7/6) = 3S/8.

. If D denotes the set of positive integers of the form
'f13b SCtIlle, then 1:zeD 1/z = (3S/8)(l1/10) = 77/16.

Infinitude of the Primes

Suppose now that there are only finitely many primes, sayP1,P2,
Euler was capable of P3' ...,P", wherePI = 2,p2 = 3,P3= S,.... We consider the product
stunning
reasoning; some of
111
---
the steps in his proofs
1_1/21-1/31-1/5
are so daring that they
would leave today's This is obviously a finite number, being the product of finitely
mathematicians
many non-zero fractions. Now this product also equals
gasping for breath.

When we expand out this product, we find, by continuing the line

of argument developed above, that we obtain the sum of the
reciprocals of aU the positive integers. To see why, we need to use the
fundamental theorem of arithmetic and the assumption that 2, 3,
S, .. .,p" areaUthe primes that exist; these two statementStogether
jmply that every positive integer can be expressed uniquelyas a
product of non-negative powers of the n primes 2, 3,S, ...,p".From

88 RESONANCEI March 1996

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

this it follows that the expression on the right side is precisely the
sum

1 1 1 1
1+"2+3"+4"+ ...,

written in some permuted order. But by the Oresme-Bemoulli

theorem, the latter sum is infinite! So we have a contradiction:
the finite number

has been shown to be infinite -- an absurdity! The only way out

of this contradiction is to drop the assumption that there are only
finitely many prime numbers. Thus we reach the desired objec-
tive, namely, that of proving that there are infinitely many prime
numbers.
It is not for nothing
Note that, as a bonus, there are several formulas that drop out of that Euleris at times
this analysis, more or less as corollaries. For instance, wefind that referred to as analysis
incarnate!
1 111
- ...=1+-+-+-+...
1 - 1/52 22 32 42

that is, the infinite product and the infinite sum both converge
to the same (finite) value. By a stunning piece of reasoning,
including a few daring leaps that would leave today's mathema-
ticians gasping for breath, Euler showed that both sides of the
above equation are equal to 'fil/6.Likewise, we find that

1 111
- '" = 1 + - + - + -+ ...,
1 - 1/54 24 34 44

and this time both sides converge to 1C4190.

Euler proved all this
and much much more; it is not for nothing that he is at times
referred to as analysisincarnate!

RESONANCE I March 1996 89

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

The Divergence of 1:lip

As mentioned earlier, Euler showed in addition that the sum

1 1 1 1 1
2, -=-+-+-+-+...
P'
I
2 3 5 7
Leonhard. ruler i~1

Slnceunlvers~were not is itself infinite. We are now in a position to obtain this beautiful
the~f1lor researcb cen~ result. For any positive integern ~ 2, let P ndenote the set ofprime
iresfJphlsdays, Leonhard numbers less than or equal to n. We start by showing that
EdlerO~07-1783) spent n
.
(6.1)
most of,hls.llfe with the
aerli~ and Petersburg
n ~1- 4
peP.
1
> L
j=l
1
-:-.
J
Academ.les..Plous,..bUtoot
dogmatic, Eulerconduct- Our strategy will be a familiar one. We write down the following
ed p,raxersfor his large inequality for eachp E Pn,which followsfrom equation (4.1):
hou$abold, and creqfed
1 1 1 1 1
mathematiCswith.a.baby ->1+-+-+-+...+-
oobls lap and cl1i1dreo 1 - 14 P p2 p3 pn.
plt1Ylggall. around. Euler
The '>' sign holds because we have left out all the positive terms
,withheld his own wotkon
that followthe term l/pn.Multiplying together the corresponding
calculu~ of "aria~o~ so
sides 'of all these inequalities (p E P n)'we obtain:
that young Lagrange
0736"'181~1
could publISh
ijflrSf, aodshowedslmllgr
n. ->TI
peP
1
1 - 14 peP
. .(
1
1+-+-+-+...+-
P p2
1 1
p3
1
pn)
generosityOIlmany other
occaslo!:,s.Utterly free of When we expand out the product on the right side, we obtain a
fdlsepride," Euler always sum of the form 1:j e A 1/j for some set of positive integersA. This
expla!OedhowhewaSled set certainly includes all the integers from 1 to n because the set
to his results sayjog that P n contains all the prime numbers between1 and n. Inequality
"the;ath 1 followed,.will (6.1) thus follows immediately.
Perhapsbe ofsome belp".
And. 1ndE!ed,Qenera1lons Next, we already know (see equation (3.3)) that
bfma1hei'na1ldansfollO'Ned
n
1 1 (6.2)
laplace's advice: "Read
2,-:->lnn+->lnn.
J n
Euier,he,1sour master In
j=l
aIU".

90 RESONANCEI March 1996

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

Combining (6.1) and (6.2), we obtain the following inequality:

~ Iv'" PrOdigiOUS;
n. _-~
peP
1
1 1
> Inn. Output
. 'it
Ithas beer) estimated.1fKrt-;
Eole~s 886 works wpuld
Taking logarithms on both sides, this translates into the state-
fiU80 1a~ge books. DldOt-
ment,
Jog Qrwritlog 00 hl~sl~,
(6.3) Euler kept lip his unporot.
L In > In In n.
pe P . ( 1~ 14) .
IeledoUlputalUhrougnijis
life.~fjtofally~.~
Our task is nearly over. It only remains to relate the sum thMost17yearsof~ ..
heprornlSeQJ9' c. tN.1.11he
~pePn1/p with the sum on the left side of (6.3). We accomplish- ,,' ." ,.-~~

.~ AccKtenWwith
this by showing that the inequality
,popers'!omUOyeors bJter
7x > In ~I-x (6.4) hisdeqlh; Qnecome ouf?9j
5
years;9fferhe diedf'~
mostovAllll...~ .
holds for 0 < x ~ 1/2. . ,;... ".:.:..J!I""""''':''.,_", .,..,..: ",,-, . :.:..,~

rn~diedwhlle~
.~il'.. LF-~l~~

To see why (6.4) is true, draw the graph of the curve r whose ,wiIh;bisgronddJildtef1
F>.
~ .'

drinlclng.. ~, "(All.boxed'
equation isy = In (1/(1- x», over the domain - < x< 1, (see00

~onEu!er:1akenffom
Figure 2). Note that r passes through the origin and is convex over
'Gibe IBM poster Men of
Motl.~1ft;M'qthefflo!l~
y
1966.r ",',f'.\,o;.,.-"L

Flgu1fI2 ",. gmph shows

y =-In(l-x) x=l that"" 0<.:;, ~ wehtwe
x <.:;,
f21n 2Jx ~ In (II(1-xJJ.

RESONANCEI March 1996 91

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

The Genius of Eu'e,

Euler's work on the .zefa

function, .partitions and
div~or sums remind us
thattle founded aoalyic
nUmber theory, w~lIe hiS
 GENERAL I ARTICLE

judge for themselves. LetS denote the sum ~j 1/Pj'We shall make
use of the following result:

eX ;:: 1 + x for all real values of x,

with equality holding precisely when x = O.The graphs of C and

1+x show why this is true; the fOrIilergraph is convex over its Johann Bernoulli
entire extent (examine the second derivative of C to see why),
Johann Bernoulli 11667-
while the latter, a line, is tangent to the former at the point (0,1),
1748), tI'Ii:!youngerbrother
and lies entirely below it everywhere else. Substituting the values
of Jal<ob Bernoulli11654-
x = 1/2, x = 1/3, x = 1/5, ..., successively. into this inequality, we
find that 1705) took it upon himself
to spread Lelbnlz's calcu-
lus across the European
contln.ent. Johann's proof
of the divergence oftl'le
Multiplying together the corresponding sides of these inequali-
harmonic series ~rst ap-
ties, we obtain:
peared 11689) In Jakob's
treatlse"anclwlth unchar"
acteristlc fraternal affec-

tion, Jakob even prefaced

The infinite product on the right side yields the following series:
the.argumel'lt with, an
acknowledgement of his
brothe(s priority.

This series is the sum of the reciprocals of all the positive integers
whose prime factors are all distinct; equivalently, the positive
integers that have no squared factors. These numbers are some-
times referred to as the quadratfreior square-freenumbers. Let Q
denote this sum. We shall show that this series itself diverges, in
other words,that Q = 00.This willimmediatelyimplythat S =00
(for eS > Q), and Euler's result will then follow.

We consider the product

1 1 1
Qx 1+-+-+-+...
22 32 42
( )
This product, when expanded out, gives the following series:

RESONANCE I March 1996 93

 GENERAL I ARTICLE

1 1 1 1
-+-+-+-+...
1 234 '

that is, we obtain the harmonic series. To see why, note that every
positive integer n can be uniquely written as a product of a square-
free number and a square; for example, 1000 = 10 X 102,2000 =
5 x 202,1728 = 3 x 242, and so on. Now when we multiply

1111111111
( 1 +2+3+5+6+7+ 10+11+13"+ 14+15+... )
with

1 +1-+1-+1-+ ...
( 22 32 42
J
we find, by virtue of the remark just made, that the reciprocal of
each positive integer n occurs preciselyonce in the expanded
product. This explains why the product is just the harmonic
serieS.Now recall that the sum

is finite (indeed, we have shown that it is less than 2). It follows

that

Q x (some finite number) = 00 .

!II ~

GHIIardr;JiM,Wqpt.,q Therefore Q = 00, and Euler's result (1:;l/p; = 00) follows. QED!
Introduction to the
n~ ofNumber;4th
.n-&-a~ Readers who are unhappy with this style of presentation, in
~~" which 00 is treated as an ordinary real number, will find it an
Ivan Niven. Herbert S interesting (but routine) exercise to rewrite the proof to accord
Z1IekermamLAa:fatro-.
..
with more exacting standards of rigour and precision.
cJuctioa to the .~
ofNUmben..wne,Eut-
~emI':!td..1989.' Conclusion
TOIDApostoLAa:~
tiOli.to AaaIytic~
bet" Theol'J. Narosa A much deeper - but also more difficult - analysis shows that the
W Boase.I9't9. sum 1/PI + 1/P2 + 1/P3 + ... + I/P,. is approximately equal to

,94 I March
RESONANCE 1996
 GENERAL I ARTICLE

JDhtlnn'$d/wNgent:fl pn»f,
x VL S.",m. {nit; inftnit. b.rmo,,;upr.,.,lff J t +f+ """, JllkDb'$ Tractatus de
J1 + 4 + ~$
I &&. ~R ;"G..i...
"'JH- serfebus Inflnltls, rsPIlb-
Id primus deprmcndir Frater :- invenra namque per pr2Ced~ //shed /n ma. (FnHn pt1I/fI
(umma C~ieif :+-fr+ 1\+ 1~ + t5 J &e. viCurusporro, quid emer- '" t1f Journey through Ge-
seret ex JRa Cene J f + i + 1\+ ::~+ io ' &e. fi reColvel'CtUl'me- nius by Will/11m Dllnhtlm J.
thodo Prop. X 1v. collegit p opofitionJS veriratem ex abfurditatc
manifefia, quae fequetetUr, ti Cumma. Cetia. harmonicae 6nira fiawe-.
mur. Animadvenit: eniin II
Setiem A, t + t + i + f + t + t.&~, 3) (fi.ttionibus 6nguli':
iD alias J quarum numeratores funt I, Z JJ, 4-, &~ transmuratis)
iCrieiB,f+.r+I~
- + :.t+-Io+4~ J&ce.X'C+D+E+F.&t.. -
c.j+l+I~+1\+~7~J&c-..:x> :X>C'-f:X>f
D...+H-n+~~+T~+4~'&~ perprac.il'
E. . . +T!+Y5+~+4\ &~:x>D- ~:x>t ~d~;' J

F. . . . .. "+"ik+1k+;p;~&ce.:X>E-TI:x>4. fequi..
&e.3'\ &c.Jwr,te..
(riem G 3) .of~ totUm patti J fi flUlUlll finita. elf~
Ego,

In In n. This is usually stated in the following form: as n tends

to 00, the fraction

141 +14 . 2 +14 3 +...+14 II

f lnlnn

tends to 1. This is indeed a striking result, reminiscent of the

earlier result that 111 + 112 + 113 + . . . + IIn is approximately
equal to In n. It shows the staggeringly slow rate of divergence of
the sum of the reciprocals of the primes. The harmonic series 'r.jlli
diverges slowly enough - to achieve a sum of over 100, for
instance, we would need to add more than 1043terms, so it is
certainly not a job that one can leave to finish offover a weekend.
(Do you see where the number 1043comes from?) On the other
hand, to achieve a sum of over 100with the series 'r.jIIpj,we need Address for correspondence
43
Shailesh ShiraI!
to add something like 1010 terms!! This number is so stupen-
RishlValley School
dously large that it is a hopeless task to make any visual image of Rlshl Valley 517 352.
it. Certainly there is no magnitude even remotely comparable to Chlltoor Dist. IA PI. India.
it in the whole of the known universe.

RESONANCEI March 1996 95