Fact of the Day: 11/11/2022

What is pi, and how did it originate? Pi is actually a Greek letter, and in mathematics it represents the ratio between a circle’s circumference and its diameter. ScientificAmerica.com explains, “According to Petr Beckmann’s A History of Pi, the Greek letter π was first used for this purpose by William Jones in 1706, probably as an abbreviation of periphery, and became standard mathematical notation roughly 30 years later” (par. 1). Pi is an irrational number that has been calculated for a long time—and is still being calculated! Ancient peoples like the Egyptians seemed to use and acknowledge the value of pi, but with rougher estimates. Later, in places like Greece, people began to make more exact approximations (par. 5). Now, with the help of technology and a complex computing system, we have approximated pi to more than 6 billion digits. But the quest to find all digits of pi still continues.

Reference(s): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-pi-and-how-did-it-originate/ 

Fact Author: Bailey W.

Fact Editor: Ace

We Hope to See You Again Next Year!