![]() ![]() ![]() A further refinement to this value can be obtained by inscribing a hexagon inside the circle and a square outside.Therefore, the area of the circle πr 2 = π and this lies between 2 and 4. If the radius of the circle is 1 unit of length, then This would then give us an upper and lower bound for the value of π The first calculations of π that we know about were carried out by inscribing a geometrical figure like a square both inside and outside a circle and calculating their areas.The Babylonians had found π to have the value 3.125 while the Egyptians gave an approximate value of 3.1605. An approximate value of π was probably known to the Babylonians, Egyptians, Chinese and Indians way back as 4000 years.Some computer programmers have calculated π to more than 50 trillion digits.Ī transcendental number is defined as a number that is not the root of any non-zero polynomial with rational coefficients. Mathematicians have been trying to calculate π to as many digits as possible. π is a number that mathematicians call “infinite decimal” i.e., after the decimal the digits go on forever, without any obvious pattern. An irrational number is defined as a number that cannot be expressed as a ratio of two whole numbers (i.e., fractions). We now know that π is both an irrational and transcendental number. The Greek symbol π for Pi was suggested by the British mathematician William Jones in 1706. The actual value of Pi is however more complicated. The value of Pi is usually approximated as 22/7 or 3.14. ![]() The area of the circle is related to Pi through the expression Pi x r 2. It does not matter how large a circle is, the value of Pi remains the same. Pi is defined as the ratio of circumference of a circle to its diameter (c/d). Where did this special number π originate and why is this value of 22/7 associated with it? What is so important about π that a day has been dedicated to celebrating its importance? To answer these questions, we need to trace a bit of history of π. The digits in the date March 14 or 3/14 correspond to the first three digits of π (3.14). Since 1988, 14 March is being celebrated as Pi Day. For most of us this notion of Pi being equal to 22/7 remains stuck up in our minds for the rest of our lives. The value of π is assumed to be 22/7 or 3.14. We are taught that the circumference of a circle is 2πr (r being the radius of the circle) and its area is πr 2. Our first encounter with Pi (π) is at school when we are introduced to finding the circumference or area of a circle. “The circumference of any circle is greater than three times its diameter, and the excess is less than one seventh of the diameter but larger than ten times its seventy first part ” – Archimedes Archimedes ![]()
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