PDA

View Full Version : Topological proof of inifinitude of primes


mrb
Aug24-09, 06:10 PM
There is a proof that there are infinitely many primes that uses basic point set topology:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furstenberg%27s_proof_of_the_infinitude_of_primes

What I am wondering is: is there a way to think about topological spaces such that this proof arises naturally? Or can it only be seen as an interesting sidelight that somebody stumbled upon?