Euclid's Theorem - Proof Using Euler's Totient Function

Proof Using Euler's Totient Function

The theorem can be also proved by using Euler's totient function φ. In this proof, the following property will be used:

Assume that there is only a finite number of primes. Call them p1, p2, ..., pr and consider the integer n = p1p2 ... pr. Any natural number an has a prime divisor q. Then, q must be one of p1, p2, ..., pr, since that is the list of all prime numbers. Hence, for all an, gcd(a, n) > 1 except if a = 1. This leads to φ(n) = 1, which contradicts the property above.

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