Prime Spiral

In my commitment to look back at abandoned projects, I must share some work with prime numbers and spirals, which deserve a link, an instruction manual and an explanation.

instructions

This application relies mostly on key presses in order for interaction. You may change the state of it in one of three ways:

-press the number keys ( between 0 and 9 ) in order to change the rendering mode

-press one of the following keys to toggle on and off certain things:
d = whether the spiral’s radius increments over time
p = whether to show what range of prime numbers are being shown
u = whether to show updates to the application’s state

-press one of the following keys to change which variables the arrow keys change:
r = spiral radius
c = circle or rectangle width/height
f = frame rate of the application
n = number of prime numbers to render each frame
i = amount by which spiral radius increments over time
t = attraction of particles to the mouse

link

explanation

This project started out as a simple investigation into visualizing prime numbers. I came up with an example or two I liked, but the project was not done. Flickr user AM Radio, in that second link, encouraged me to try a spiral layout, which I went on to do.

Having had some fun with drawing prime numbers in spirals, I wondered what it would look like to traverse the sequence of all prime numbers up to about 1.8 million, a few hundred or so at a time. The application above is what it looks like, to me, to do so. I think it takes a day or more to get to 1.8 million, depending upon how you use it. It is usually neat to look at, and playing with it is fun to me. It is nowhere near complete, and I doubt that it should ever be made so.

There are many who have investigated the phenomena of prime numbers– their existence, their depth, their properties and patterns. I would guess that there were many investigators of the subject that, for some reason, gave up upon their way, as I have. I wonder how many ghosts there are on the trail of prime numbers. How many minds have gone down that path and left never to return? How many have come back with interesting results? How many have come back safely but not spoken of what they saw ?

I share this in order that my thoughts not become a ghost who might later trouble me. This is what I saw when I looked at prime numbers. It was not altogether meaningful, but I enjoyed seeing it.