From engineers to mathematicians to physicists and more, the numerically inclined are celebrating Pi day today. That’s because it’s March 14th, or 3.14, the first three (and most significant) digits to the infinite, pattern-less solution.
Before you join in on the festivities, here are five things you should know about Pi and Pi Day:
1. Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.
The circumference is the distance around the circle, while the diameter is the distance from one edge of the circle to the other. Since Pi is a constant number, no matter the size of the circle, its ration will always be the same.
2. All throughout history, circular objects have always measured just a bit more than 3 times its width around.
In the Bible’s Old Testament, it is written that a circular pool measures 30 cubits around. Mathematician Archimedes used polygons with many sides to help approximate circles and ultimately determined Pi to be (approximately) 22/7.
3. The famed Pi symbol was first used in 1706 by William Jones.
It gained in popularity when it was officially adopted by Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in 1737.
4. M.I.T. used to mail out its application decision letters to prospective students for delivery on Pi Day.
This practice was updated just last year when the school decided to instead announce its decisions online (privately, of course) on Pi Day at exactly 6:28 pm, which they call “Tau Time”, to honor the rival numbers equally.
5. The number of digits passed the Pi decimal point has been calculated in the trillions.
In regards to the record for memorizing Pi, that title is held by China’s Chao Lu who, on November 20, 2005, was able to accurately recite the number from memory to 67,890 places. It took four years of practice, and the attempt lasted 24 hours and four minutes.
While impressive, it should be noted that one needs only the first 39 digits past the decimal to accurately calculate the spherical volume of the universe.
Anything past that is just for fun – whether to see how many digits can be memorized, or to calculate more and more digits.
BONUS: If you hold 3.14 up to a mirror, it spells “PIE”:
Happy Pi Day!
Information via piday.org
Advertisement
