What is Pi?
Pi is the sixteenth letter of the Greek Alphabet ?p,? and represents the ration between a circle?s circumference and its diameter. The number Pi is an irrational and transcendental number. Meaning that Pi can not be expressed as a fraction of integers nor as an algebraic equation. Pi can be calculated to an infinite amount of digits but the value 3.14 is most often associated as the value of pi.
The History of Pi
In 2000 B.C.E. the Babylonians were the first to ever discover a value for pi, which they calculated to be 3. However other Babylonians calculated the value to be 3.125. In the Bible, it confirms the Babylonians discovery, as said in this verse: ?And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it about.? The ratio in this verse is 3:1, giving pi the value of 3. Later, a great mathematician, Archimedes of Syracuse discovered that the real value of pi lied in between the values of 22/7 and 223/71. After Archimedes discovery, many mathematicians furthered his research and found a more exact value for pi. In 1706, William Jones wrote 3.14159 = pi. This was adopted by Euler in 1737 and has been the symbol for pi ever since.
Calculating Pi
There are many different and complex algorithms for finding the value of pi. For basic mathematical calculations, you can substitute the value 3.14 or 3.1416 as the value for pi and find your answer. To be even more exact, most recent calculators have a ?pi? button programmed into them and will complete the calculations using a very accurate measurement of pi. If your calculator lacks the pi button, the fraction ?104348/33215? is the one of the more accurate measurements of pi and is accurate is accurate to 0.00000001056%. Pi is also equal to 4*arctan(1). Reported by Scientific American, there is now a formula to calculate any digit in pi without knowing its preceding digit. Something thought impossible until now.
Memorizing Pi
By using mnemonics, a technique of improving the memory, people have remembered the digits of pi very easily by using nursery rhythms and poems. Edgar Allen Poe?s poem, Near a Raven is mnemonic for pi?s value. Starting with Poe?s name, ?Poe. E? and then stating the name of the poem ?Near a Raven? each word represents a digit(s) by the total number of letters it has. If the word has 10 letters, that words value is 0 and if the word has more than ten letters then it would count as two values. Such as 23 would be 2 and 3. Here?s a Quote:
Poe, E. Near a Raven
3 . 1 4 1 5
?Midnights so dreary, tired and weary. Silently pondering volumes extolling all by-now obsolete lore.?
9 2 6 5 3 5 8 9 7 9 3 2 3 8 4
Seem familiar?
Before I paste anything down, I want to make sure what I have written is correct.
Pi is the sixteenth letter of the Greek Alphabet ?p,? and represents the ration between a circle?s circumference and its diameter. The number Pi is an irrational and transcendental number. Meaning that Pi can not be expressed as a fraction of integers nor as an algebraic equation. Pi can be calculated to an infinite amount of digits but the value 3.14 is most often associated as the value of pi.
The History of Pi
In 2000 B.C.E. the Babylonians were the first to ever discover a value for pi, which they calculated to be 3. However other Babylonians calculated the value to be 3.125. In the Bible, it confirms the Babylonians discovery, as said in this verse: ?And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it about.? The ratio in this verse is 3:1, giving pi the value of 3. Later, a great mathematician, Archimedes of Syracuse discovered that the real value of pi lied in between the values of 22/7 and 223/71. After Archimedes discovery, many mathematicians furthered his research and found a more exact value for pi. In 1706, William Jones wrote 3.14159 = pi. This was adopted by Euler in 1737 and has been the symbol for pi ever since.
Calculating Pi
There are many different and complex algorithms for finding the value of pi. For basic mathematical calculations, you can substitute the value 3.14 or 3.1416 as the value for pi and find your answer. To be even more exact, most recent calculators have a ?pi? button programmed into them and will complete the calculations using a very accurate measurement of pi. If your calculator lacks the pi button, the fraction ?104348/33215? is the one of the more accurate measurements of pi and is accurate is accurate to 0.00000001056%. Pi is also equal to 4*arctan(1). Reported by Scientific American, there is now a formula to calculate any digit in pi without knowing its preceding digit. Something thought impossible until now.
Memorizing Pi
By using mnemonics, a technique of improving the memory, people have remembered the digits of pi very easily by using nursery rhythms and poems. Edgar Allen Poe?s poem, Near a Raven is mnemonic for pi?s value. Starting with Poe?s name, ?Poe. E? and then stating the name of the poem ?Near a Raven? each word represents a digit(s) by the total number of letters it has. If the word has 10 letters, that words value is 0 and if the word has more than ten letters then it would count as two values. Such as 23 would be 2 and 3. Here?s a Quote:
Poe, E. Near a Raven
3 . 1 4 1 5
?Midnights so dreary, tired and weary. Silently pondering volumes extolling all by-now obsolete lore.?
9 2 6 5 3 5 8 9 7 9 3 2 3 8 4
Seem familiar?
Before I paste anything down, I want to make sure what I have written is correct.
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