A Not-Exactly-Comprehensive Introduction to Pi

Welcome to the mystical world of Pi. What exactly is Pi? Truthfully, there is nothing exact about Pi. In fact, from the hand-calculated efforts of ancient Babylonians to the 21st century age of supercomputers, determining the value of Pi has become a quest rivaling the search for the Holy Grail. Defining the observable universe with a precision of one atom can be achieved with only 39 digits of Pi. Man’s competitive nature, however, compels him to continue the computation into the millions of digits, all to no avail. The infinite mystery of Pi remains intact.

The symbol for Pi is the Greek letter π, selected because it stands for perimeter. While the actual value of Pi cannot be determined, an approximate value of 3.14159 (usually shortened to 3.14) has been universally accepted for calculation purposes. The characteristics of Pi seem almost contradictory in nature. Pi is a real number - defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi is irrational – as a fraction, it is written as 22/7; as a decimal, its value cannot be definitively calculated. Pi is constant - no matter the circle being calculated, Pi is always the same number. Pi is unique – the number of digits to the right of the decimal point are infinite and without any repetitive pattern. Pi is ubiquitous – a major player in Buffton’s Needle Problem (a calculation of the probability that a pin dropped on a set of parallel lines will intersect a line) in both the short needle and long needle equations , and in the “famous five” equation e^(i*pi) + 1 = 0, connecting the five most important numbers in mathematics, Pi is also alive and well in the real world.

Pi Goes Universal

What Pi is not, is dull. Its mystique seeps out of the confines of mathematics to invade our mundane world. Wherever you find circles (our own blue planet or the pupil of an eye, the patterns of the DNA double helix or ripples in a pond, even in the meandering of a river), you’ll find Pi. The symbol π appears as a pass code in the Hitchcock political thriller Torn Curtain. The first six digits of Pi (314159) become the combination to a safe in the Carl Sagan sci-fi novel Contact. Decimal place digits 1 to 78 and 101 to 137 of Pi are sung as lyrics in the song π on the Aerial album by Kate Bush. Even Google got a “slice” of Pi in Sept 2005 by offering exactly 14159265 (the first eight digits after the decimal point) shares of Class A stock. Pi also has its own brand of humor, as demonstrated in the classic math joke “The Second Pizza Theorem.” Question: Using the formula for the volume of a cylinder (V = π r2h) as a model, how would you calculate the volume of a pizza of thickness a and radius z? Answer: Pi z z a Pi even found its way into the Bible, once in 1 Kings 7:23 and again in Chronicles 4:2. In both passages, the dimensions of a large circular vessel, measured in cubits, assign Pi an approximate value of 3.

Pi And Pie and Party Central

Stepping briefly out of “math mode”, Pi becomes quite the party animal in an annual celebration dubbed Pi Day. Held, appropriately, on March 14th (3/14), ideas for Pi Day are nearly as limitless as Pi itself. A few choices to consider include

• Main dishes, like shepherd’s pie or chicken pot pie, followed by desserts, like pineapple upside-down cake, π -shaped cookies, or pies with π carved into the crust. 
• Pi-accessorized clothing and jewelry, temporary Pi tattoos, or Pi stickers. 
• A toast to Pi (3.14159) at exactly 1:59 pm, perhaps with an original Pi-em (poem) and a piña colada. 
• Pi games, like a pie-eating contest, or Pi-themed versions of trivia games like Jeopardy 
• A 3.14 mile Pi run ***** ***** 

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