Book with just one number -- with 23,249,425 digits -- sells out in Japan

2018-02-02 12:30 Last Updated At：13:24

A book without any words but all numbers.

Japanese publishing house Nanairosha's recent offering is a strange book that has become surprisingly popular.

The book, "The Biggest Prime Number in 2017", contains just one thing -- a newly discovered prime number that has broken the record for the largest ever found, coming in at a whopping 23,249,425 digits that covers the 791 pages in the book.

The number, the 50th prime number of its type to be discovered, is 2 to the power of 77,232,917 minus 1.

In just four days, some 1,500 copies of the book were sold and it is currently out of stock at Amazon.

As numbers get larger, prime numbers, which are divisible only by 1 and themselves, become difficult to find. They become further apart, and there's no pattern to their distribution.

Even the formula for finding the Mersenne prime numbers -- named after the 17th-century French monk who studied them, Marin Mersenne -- isn't a surefire method, it's simply a way to narrow down a likelier place to find them.

2 to the power of 77,232,917 minus 1 is the largest Mersenne prime number discovered so far, obtained by multiplying 2 to the power of 77,232,917, and then subtracting 1.

It was discovered late last year by Jonathan Pace, an American electrical engineer, through a software called the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, a collaborative project of volunteers to search for such figures.

Looking for a Mersenne prime is very difficult, just like searching for a needle in a haystack, said Jordan Ellenberg, a mathematics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

It has made great contributions in the fields of computer science and mathematics. And because of the difficulties in finding them, the Mersenne primes appear mysterious and romantic.

A's announce Soderstrom deal at future Las Vegas home

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The setting of the Athletics' news conference Tuesday was at least as notable as the reason why the parties were there.

Tyler Soderstrom's signing ceremony was the first such event at the A's future Las Vegas home, the latest step in the club's scheduled move in a little more than two years.

His $86 million, seven-year contract is the richest deal in team history. It includes a club option for an eighth season and bonus provisions that could increase the value to $131 million.

“This is exciting for us,” general manager David Forst said. “This keeps him here with the A's well into our time here in Las Vegas starting in 2028. A huge part of what we're doing right now is putting that roster together.”

After leaving Oakland, the A's recently completed their first season in West Sacramento, California, where they plan to remain until the move to Las Vegas.

A tight-spending organization in the past, the A's have signed some head-turning deals going back to last offseason. Those include a $60 million, five-year contract with designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker and a $65.5 million, seven-year deal with outfielder Lawrence Butler. Manager Mark Kotsay signed an extension that takes him through 2028 with a club option for 2029.

Then this offseason, the A's not only extended Soderstrom, they traded with the New York Mets for veteran second baseman Jeff McNeil.

First baseman Nick Kurtz was named AL Rookie of the Year and shortstop Jacob Wilson finished second in the voting.

“We have a time frame that we see in front of us with this group that can be really special,” Kotsay said. "We went through a little bit of that phase — I did as a coach — in ‘16, ’17, ‘18 with a special group we weren't able to keep in place. Now we have that same type of group, and we're making every effort possible to keep these guys for an extended period of time, to bring them here in Vegas.

“It's my job to get us to win and win prior to us getting to this ballpark. I think you're seeing David put this group together on a daily basis to give us that chance, and it's going to be exciting.”

The A's have assembled a dynamic young roster that showed it also could overcome adversity last season. After going through a stretch of 20 losses in 21 games, they then went 53-46 the rest of the way.

Soderstrom said he thinks the team could make a playoff push next season.

“There's so much potential that we have,” he said. “Words can't explain how excited I am to be a part of that going forward.”

Soderstrom toured the construction site on Tuesday for the $2 billion, 33,000-capacity domed stadium, standing in left field and where home plate will sit. He later went to the A's Experience Center, which includes team memorabilia and a model of the ballpark, and took part in the news conference.

The A's took him with the 26th overall pick in the 2020 amateur draft. Soderstrom played his first full major league season this year and batted .276 with 25 home runs and 93 RBIs.

Kotsay said he was especially impressed with Soderstrom's willingness and ability to move to left field after playing first base and catcher.

When Kotsay asked Soderstrom what he thought about shifting to left, the player responded by saying, “I'm the best athlete on the team. I don't have a problem.”

Soderstrom played so well in the outfield he became a Gold Glove finalist.

A's management could have waited to pursue a long-term deal with Soderstrom, but opted instead to avoid salary arbitration, which he would have been eligible for after next season. Soderstrom would have been eligible for free agency following the 2029 season.

“The idea of taking this group of young players and locking them up into a new ballpark has been something we've talked about for a long time,” Forst said. “We were able to get Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler signed last year, Tyler now, and there are ongoing conversations with others. So this is kind of the blueprint for how we want to do this and how we want to open the ballpark in '28.”

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