pi (pi), n., pl. pis. 1. in the Greek alphabet, the 16th letter (II). 2. the sound represented by this letter. 3. Math. a. the letter pi, used as the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. b.3.141592+, the ratio itself. [1835-45; Gk pi, pei; used in mathematics to represent Greek peripherion periphery] If you look at closely at circles, and diligently take their measurements , you would notice that the ratio of the circumference to the diameters for all the circles are very close. The values that you would get will be very close to 3.1. The measurements that you did may not have been that precise. If they had been, then all of the ratios would be extremely close to each other. What that tells us is that there is a fundamental constant that works with every single circle. The name of this constant is pi and its value is close to 3.1415926535897932... The Greek letter ‘’ is used to represent this important constant. Pi is a fundamental constant of nature, and is one of the most famous and most remarkable numbers ever. William Jones, a self-taught English mathematician born in Wales, is the one who selected the Greek letter for the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter in 1706. is an irrational number. That means that it can not be written as the ratio of two integer numbers. For example, the ratio 22/7 is a popular one used for pi but it is only an approximation which equals about 3.142857143... One of the more accurate fractions for pi is 104348/33215. It is accurate to 0.00000001056%. Another characteristic of pi as an irrational number is the fact that it takes an infinite number of digits to give its exact value, i.e. you can never get to the end of it. The Egyptians and the Babylonians are the first cultures that discovered pi about 4,000 years ago. Here is a small table that shows some of the very old discoveries of pi: Culture/Person Approximate Time Value Used Babylonians 2000 BC 3 + 1/8 = 3.125 Egyptians 2000 BC 3.16045 China 1200 BC 3 Bible mentions it 550 BC 3 Archimedes 250 BC 3.1418 Hon Han Shu 130 sqrt (10) = 3.1622 Ptolemy 150 3.14166 Since 4,000 years ago and up until this very day, people have been trying to get more and more accurate values for pi. Presently supercomputers are used to find the value of pi with as many digits as possible. Pi has been calculated with a precision containing more than one billion digits, i.e., more that 1,000,000,000 digits! just asking, but how many digits of pi can anyone here memorise? my friend does about seventy or eighty... Take a look :3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679821480865132823066470938446095505822317253594081284811174502841027019385211055596446229489549303819644288109756659334461284756482337867831652712019091456485669234603486104543266482133936072602491412737245... It goes on forever. P.S don't lie...
I have a computer that could potentially memorize π to a hundred billion decimal places or so, but I have better uses for my hard disk.
2 decimal points for me. If I need more I will ask przyk's computer Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! -Dale
3.141592653 - 9 places, but I'd like to know it to about 15-20 places, which I'll hopefully work on soon Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I used to know 40 digits... memorized it over a few days from a geometry book. I since forgot... let's see how much I can recall: 3.14159265358979... yea, that's it Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
>> how many digits of pi can anyone here memorise? BUT is this value of pi correct ? where does one find a truely flat plane, a truely straight line, a perfect circle ? pi is only theoretical... and requires all these impossible attributes in a geometric construction (ie Euclidean geometry) for the value quoted to be valid What is pi's real value ?
URI.. what are you talking about? Are you questioning the definitions WE defined? Pi is the value arrived at by definitions. You can see the universe in an infinite number of ways, but we need standards to build from and these standards must be such that we can mold them to study the many aspects of math. Pi is DEFINED as the circumference of a circle on a flat plane divided by it's diameter. What do you mean when you ask what the real value of Pi is? It seems to me you are treating Pi as a materialistic mathematical object.
pi's real value is what we define it to be, URI. Real world measurements can only ever yield an approximation to the real value of pi, as defined mathematically. At best, we can only measure things as accurately as our measuring apparatus will allow, and there are even limits on how accurate measuring apparatus can be made (see Heisenberg's uncertainty principle etc.) Happy?
Back when I was 13, I memorized the first 104 digits in about a week. I still know it, too. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
any stated value of pi is not exact because it is an infinite decimal number. the ratio of diameter to circumference is equal to pi and is exact. pi is a reality uri. there is nothing impossible about the ratio of diameter to circumerence. saying that any stated value of pi is incorrect is like saying any stated value of 1/3 is incorrect
But it is! On my old calculator: 1 / 3 = 0.3333333 * 3 = 0.9999999 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
my point exactly. no matter what you state as the decimal value for pi it is incorrect. the same applies to 1/3. we can make both as accurate as we need them to be and we can define both exactly but the stated decimal value will never be correct.
What value? π = π, if that's what you want to know. Nowhere. So what? π is a mathematical constant, not a physical constant. If you try to measure π and get a value significantly different from 3.14159... it means that the circle you measured was imperfect or that the universe you're living in is not a Euclidean geometry. This isn't a problem for π, since it is not defined in terms of the geometry of our universe. Just what kind of an answer do you expect to that? You want someone to list all the decimal places?
I see that "flatness" is a defined property IMO, space is curved.... not quite an Einsteinian curve concept//// not wells, but bubbles IMO are more appropriate Yes pi is theoretical for flatlands Could be in different parts of the Universe "practically flat" planes might be of different degrees of flatness so in space navigation using a flat pi value may lead the travellers going greately astray. Its all very well to run a Universe on definitions, however the Universe may object. Be aware that there really is no value for pi..... it really is an EXPERIMENTAL value, and can only be determined in the land you are actually in..... if you travel, pi may change with the "background curve". all IMO
well this is something isn't it. pi as we know it got the voyager spacecraft right where they wanted it, all the way to pluto. hows that for inaccurate?
