View source for Euclidean prime number theorem

{{TEX|done}}
The set of prime numbers is infinite (Euclid's Elements, Book IX, Prop. 20). The [[Chebyshev theorems on prime numbers|Chebyshev theorems on prime numbers]] and the asymptotic law of the [[Distribution of prime numbers|distribution of prime numbers]] provide more precise information on the set of prime numbers in the series of natural numbers.



====Comments====
The proof of the Euclidean theorem is simple. Suppose there exist only finitely many prime numbers $p_1,\dotsc,p_k$. Consider the number $N=p_1\dotsm p_k+1$. Since $N>1$ it must be divisible by a prime number $p$, which equals some $p_i$ due to the finiteness of the amount of prime numbers. Hence $p=p_i$ divides $N=p_1\dotsm p_i\dots p_k+1$, and thus $p_i$ divides 1. This contradiction shows that there must be infinitely many prime numbers.