I'm trying to see how maximal ideals, prime ideals, and principal ideals are related for an arbitrary domain $D$. I know that every maximal ideal is a prime ideal. I know that principal ideals are not a subset of prime ideals (and hence not of maximal ideals) by the example $\langle x^2-1\rangle\subset\mathbb{C}[X].$ Now I'm trying to think of an example of a prime ideal that isn't principal. Are there any good examples?
2026-04-20 23:40:59.1776728459
Prime Ideal that isn't Principal
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$K[X;Y], \enspace K$ a field, is not a P.I.D. and the ideal $(X,Y)$ is prime, not principal.
In $\mathbf Z[X]$, the ideal $(2,X)$ is also prime, not principal.