Pi is an irrational number that denotes the ratio between a circle’s circumference and diameter, making it a key number in mathematicians’, engineers’, and other professions relating to circles.
Students learn Pi in geometry class and use it to calculate the area of circles. Pi can also be applied in calculations for things like spacecraft fuel tank sizes and garden dimensions, engineers use Pi as an important metric when testing machines such as accelerometers and gyroscopes and even sound and light waves travel around in patterns governed by Pi.
Pi is an integral part of life; we simply can’t imagine our world without it. Pi has always intrigued and inspired mathematicians; that’s why National Pi Day began on March 14, 1988 at San Francisco Exploratorium science museum by an employee there. On this special day we celebrate this incredible number by exchanging trivia about Pi and its mathematical applications as well as baking one of our most iconic circular treats: pie.
But why is Pi so captivating and significant? Mathematicians have studied Pi for millennia; its mysteries enthrall all of us from Ancient Egyptians and Babylonians through to Archimedes devising algorithms to approximate it; Chinese and Indian mathematicians even produced approximations with seven and five digit approximations respectively by 5th Century AD! A millennium later came the discovery of an infinite series formula for computing pi.
Calculating pi is relatively simple due to its irrational nature; fractions cannot directly compare it with rational numbers with clearly defined numerators and denominators; it’s easiest to think of it as an infinite series of decimals that never end or repeats.
One of the fascinating features of Pi is its infinitely long digits; as more digits are written out, you get closer to its actual value. Furthermore, you can calculate it with just three rules – decimal point multiplied with multiply rule for all numbers before it.
Pi is an extremely beautiful number because it encodes patterns with their size and spacing – such as stripes on zebras or leopard spots – in nature, as well as being present in how buildings are designed, roads are laid out, or bicycles operate.
Mathematicians are still exploring what else Pi can tell us about our universe, but it’s clear that this number plays an integral part in our existence. Even though its full power remains hidden to us for now, we thank those mathematicians who have discovered its mysteries and continue studying it as part of life itself.