Happy Pi Day
Bulletin Board & Program Idea
Submitted By:
Cameron Hovey,
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Happy Pi Day!!
Celebrated on March
14…
The symbol for pi (π) has been used regularly in its
mathematical sense only for the past 250 years.
The letter π is the first letter of the Greek word
“periphery” and “perimeter.” The symbol π in mathematics
represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its
diameter. In other words, π is the number of times a circle’s
diameter will fit around its circumference.
Ludolph van Ceulen (1540-1610) spent most of his life
calculating the first 36 digits of pi (which were named the
Ludolphine Number). According to legend, these numbers
were engraved on his now lost tombstone.
In 1995, Hiroyoki Gotu memorized 42,195 places of pi and is
considered the current pi champion. Some scholars speculate
that Japanese is better suited than other languages for
memorizing sequences of numbers.
Pi has been studied by the human race for almost 4,000
years. By 2000 B.C., Babylonians established the constant
circle ratio as 3-1/8 or 3.125. The ancient Egyptians arrived
at a slightly different value of 3-1/7 or 3.143.
Thirty-nine decimal places of pi suffice for
computing the circumference of a circle
girding the known universe with an error no
greater than the radius of a hydrogen atom.
In 2002, a Japanese scientist found 1.24
trillion digits of pi using a powerful computer
called the Hitachi SR 8000, breaking all
previous records. It took over 400 hours!
If the circumference of the earth were calculated using π
rounded to only the ninth decimal place, an error of no more
than one quarter of an inch in 25,000 miles would result.
”Pi Day” is celebrated on March 14 (which was chosen
because it resembles 3.14). The official celebration
begins at 1:59 p.m., to make an appropriate 3.14159
when combined with the date. Albert Einstein was born
on Pi Day (3/14/1879) in Ulm Wurttemberg, Germany.
Computing pi is used as a stress test for a
computer—a kind of “digital cardiogram.
**Reference**
http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/07/03_pi.html
π
Celebrate your own Pi Day!
• Bake someone a pi(e)!
• Have a contest to Pi(e) someone in the face!
• Make sure to start at 1:59 pm on 3/14!
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Pi to 5,000 Digits!
Reference and Notes from the
Author
• http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/07/03_pi.html
• **I made the Pi facts to be cut out and spread around the
board. A LOT more Pi facts are on that cited page, too.