Summary
This primer exists for the background necessary to read our post on RSA encryption, but it also serves as a general primer to number theory. Oh, Numbers, Numbers, Numbers We start with some easy definitions. Definition: The set of integers, denoted $ \mathbb{Z}$, is the set $ \left \{ \dots -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, \dots \right \}$. Definition: Let $ a,b$ be integers, then $ a$ divides $ b$, denoted $ a \mid b$, if there exists an integer $ n$ such that $ na = b$....