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Deep Thoughts
Monday, March 14, 2016
Notes from the underground by Communications Director Constance Walter
Pi, pie, pizza pie
P
eople around the world celebrate
Pi Day every 3.14—that’s March 14
to the mathematically disinclined. Pi,
a mathematical constant, represents
the ratio of a circle’s circumference to
its diameter.
Today, the Sanford Underground
Research Facility, in partnership with
the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor
Center and the Lead Deadwood Arts
Center, is hosting the first Lead Pi
Day at the Visitor Center, 160 W.
Main. The event features pies, pizza
pies, and a pi discussion/activity. The
social hour begins
at 5 p.m.; the
presentation is at
6 p.m.
Pi is a constant
number, meaning
that no matter
the size of the
circle, pi stays
the same. Pi has
been calculated to
more than 1 trillion digits beyond the
decimal point, and some people have
taken it upon themselves to learn as
many digits as possible. According
to The Guardian, Japanese memory
master Akira Haraguchi once recited
100,000 digits of pi in public—it took
more than 16 hours.
Haraguchi’s technique relies on
assigning symbols to numbers, turning pi’s random sequence of digits
into stories—mostly, he says, about
animals and plants. “To me, reciting
pi’s digits has the same meaning as
chanting the Buddhist mantra and
meditating,” he said.
Really, only a handful of digits are
needed for typical calculations; for
example, 3.14159. But you don’t have
to understand math to have fun at Pi
South Dakota Science and Technology Authority
Day. Dr. Dan May, assistant professor of mathematics at BHSU, will
lead two activities around pi that let
participants actively investigate the
meaning of pi.
“One will allow folks to see for
themselves the physical property that
defines pi,” May said. “The other will
give them an opportunity to think
creatively about geometric ways to
decide what the value of pi is.”
May’s research interests include
the connections between poetry and
discrete mathematics and combinatorics, or combinations of
things.
An added feature of
Lead’s Pi Day, is an art
contest in which area
students can create a
birthday card for Albert
Einstein, who was born on
March 14, 1879. Einstein, a
theoretical physicist, developed the general theory of
relativity. Cards can be dropped off
at the Visitor Center on 3.14 by 1:59
p.m. For more information on the art
contest, go to leaddeadwoodartscen-
ter.com.
Pi Day is free to the public; donations to support education events at
the Visitor Center are welcome. The
Lead library will sell a variety of pies
as a fundraiser for the Library. Pizza
Lab will supply free Dark Matter and
Neutrino pizza pies.
Environmental awareness
This past weekend, temperatures soared to nearly 70 degrees in some
areas of the Black Hills. But just because it feels like spring, doesn’t mean it
really is, said Jaime Hopmeier, safety manager. By Wednesday, temperatures
will drop, bringing snow, ice and wind.
“People need to be careful, whether they are walking or driving,” he said.
Slips, trips and falls happen most frequently because of uneven ground,
said Jason Rosdahl, industrial hygienist. “To avoid falls, reduce distractions,”
he said. That means you should put away your cell phone and pay attention
to your surroundings, especially when traveling—whether on the surface or
underground, where surfaces are uneven and there is a lack of lighting in
some areas.
Lead, South Dakota