Why every prime element is irreducible in an integral domain.
Prelims:
Prime elements are such that if they divide a product, then their divide one of the factors.
Irreducible elements are ones that always have a unit as a factor.
Proof:
- Let
be prime. Then if we have it so either or . For this case assume . - So
such that . We have to now show that if this is the case, either or has to be a unit.