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Article

Entropy, Periodicity and the Probability of Primality

by
Grenville J. Croll
Alternative Natural Philosophy Association, Bury St Edmunds IP30 9QX, UK
Entropy 2025, 27(12), 1204; https://doi.org/10.3390/e27121204
Submission received: 31 October 2025 / Revised: 24 November 2025 / Accepted: 24 November 2025 / Published: 27 November 2025

Abstract

The distribution of prime numbers has long been viewed as a balance between order and randomness. In this work, we investigate the relationship between entropy, periodicity, and primality through the computational framework of the binary derivative. We prove that periodic numbers are composite in all bases except for a single trivial case and establish a set of twelve theorems governing the behavior of primes and composites in terms of binary periodicity. Building upon these results, we introduce a novel scale-invariant entropic measure of primality, denoted p(s′), which provides an exact and unconditional entropic probability of primality derived solely from the periodic structure of a binary number and its binary derivatives. We show that p(s′) is quadratic, statistically well-defined, and strongly correlated with our earlier BiEntropy measure of binary disorder. Empirical analyses across several numerical ranges demonstrate that the variance in prime density relative to quadratic expectation is small, binormal, and constrained by the central limit theorem. These findings reveal a deep connection between entropy and the randomness of the primes, offering new insights into the entropic structure of number theory, with implications for the Riemann Hypothesis, special classes of primes, and computational applications in cryptography.
Keywords: probability of primality; binary derivative; periodicity; prime number distribution; BiEntropy; randomness and complexity; Riemann Hypothesis probability of primality; binary derivative; periodicity; prime number distribution; BiEntropy; randomness and complexity; Riemann Hypothesis

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MDPI and ACS Style

Croll, G.J. Entropy, Periodicity and the Probability of Primality. Entropy 2025, 27, 1204. https://doi.org/10.3390/e27121204

AMA Style

Croll GJ. Entropy, Periodicity and the Probability of Primality. Entropy. 2025; 27(12):1204. https://doi.org/10.3390/e27121204

Chicago/Turabian Style

Croll, Grenville J. 2025. "Entropy, Periodicity and the Probability of Primality" Entropy 27, no. 12: 1204. https://doi.org/10.3390/e27121204

APA Style

Croll, G. J. (2025). Entropy, Periodicity and the Probability of Primality. Entropy, 27(12), 1204. https://doi.org/10.3390/e27121204

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