This is more about math than science, but I thought I’d write a brief note about it anyways. Today is March 14th, which translates to 3/14. For those of you who remember your geometry, that sounds an awful lot like the beginning of that most mysterious of all numbers – Pi.
Pi is a mathematical constant, which can be calculated by taking the ratio of a circle’s circumference (the distance around its edge) to its diameter (its width at the widest point). No matter what size circle you use, the calculation comes out to be the same. Pi is an irrational number, which means it has an infinite, non-repeating decimal. The numbers to the right of the decimal point never repeat, and thus pi can never be written as a fraction (not accurately, anyways). Modern computers have calculated pi out to more than a trillion digits – and there is still no end to the number in sight.
To celebrate Pi day, at 1:59 pm at the San Francisco Exploratorium, a group of Pi enthusiasts will gather to really celebrate their favorite number. Why 1:59 pm? Well, 3/14, 1:59… that’s otherwise known as 3.14159.
I don’t think anyone can celebrate more digits of pi with better precision than that.
No comments:
Post a Comment