Strange behaviour of prime numbers

[rprosperi]

(05-27-2019 04:42 PM)Thomas Okken Wrote:  Public-key cryptography is based on algorithms that can generate large primes easily, while relying on the difficulty of factoring the products of two large primes. It may be the only practical application of abstract algebra that I've ever encountered, but it's a big one.

Well, full disclosure I actually did know that one (from a past life) and I should have noted that exception. I imagine there are likely several others though; since research seems to be done by folks in lots of technical areas (not just mathematicians) I've wondered if there are applications/challenges in those other areas they are seeking to find answers to.