DATA
Enter
HUFFINGTON
03.16-23.14
A Day in the Life of 3.14159265...
March 14 is an unofficial holiday, known
as the day when people celebrate a
number by eating pie. As an irrational
number, continues infinitely, without
any apparent pattern. It has been
calculated to more than one trillion digits
beyond its decimal point, and its random
nature makes it a popular pasttime for
some to memorize its digits. Ahead, find
out what it means to be .
DEFINITION WHAT IS PI?
USES
is commonly defined as the ratio of any circle’s circumference (c) to its diameter (d).
c
r
The diameter
of a circle is
determined by
multiplying the
radus (r) by 2.
d
360˚OF
d
The
circumference
of a circle is
slightly more
than three
times as long
as its diameter.
It is determined
by the equation
2 r, or
times the
diameter.
is often found in geometry and trigonometry
formulas, especially for circles and spheres.
r
r
The area of a
circle is r2
The volume of a
sphere is 4/3 r2
A TIMELINE OF THE FIRST 360 DIGITS OF PI
For most calculations in which is required, using 3.14 suffices. Even so, many have tried to compute to thousands and
millions of digits, and are lauded when any records are broken. Below are a few of these notable people and their discoveries
within the first 360 digits.
10
14
AFTER 360?
Number of Decimal Digits
1012
1010
108
106
10
4
100
2000
1950
1900
1850
1
8
1
480 AD
7 DIGITS
Chinese
Mathematician
Tsu Ch’ung-chih
1400
10 DIGITS
1430
16 DIGITS
Indian
Mathematician
Madhava
Jumping to 500
digits in 1855, the
Egyptian
calculation of
Scribe
began an exponential
Ahmes
growth with the use
of calculators and
1
25 9 0 3 6 0 14 1 5 9 2 6 5 35 8
9 7 9
3 2
modern computers. As 1 5 3 6 4 3 6 7 8 9
3 8
4 6
D
I
G
7
I
T
S
O
1
F
2 6
9
of 2013, had been5 4 0
4 3
3 8
2
9
32
2
determined out
to
8
79
2
6
5
9
0
12,100,000,000,050
0
2
2
8
9
8
0 places!
4
decimal
2
1
5
9
7
4
8
8
1
Persian
Astronomer
Al-Kashi
1596
20 DIGITS
German
Math Professor
Ludolph van Ceulen
1610
35 DIGITS
7
1
6
9
3
1630
39 DIGITS
9
Austrian
Astronomer
Christoph Grienberger
9
7
1 0 4 5 4 3 2 6 6 4 8
6 0 3 4 8 6
2 1 3
2 3 4
3 9 3
6 6 9
6 0
5
7 2
4 8
6
6 0
5
4
2 4
1
9 1
0 9
9
41
1
0
27
2
1
37
7
2
2
5
4
6
5
1
8
3
7
8
0
7
0
6
6
8
6
7
0
3
6
3
3
2
1
8
5
4
3
5
8
1500 2000 B.C.
ONE OF THE
EARLIEST
REFERENCES
5
1
0
5
8
2
0
9
7
4
9
4
English
Mathematician
Abraham Sharp
4
8 2 5 3 4 2 1 1 7
0
6
7
2 8 0 3 4
9
8 2 1
9 8 6
4 8 0
0 8 9
8 6
6 2
5
28
1
3
0 6
2 8
6 4
2 3
81
0
6
07
64
23
70
59
9
1847
248 DIGITS
Danish
Mathemetician
Thomas Clausen
1706
PROPOSED
Welsh
Mathematician
William Jones
Introduced the Greek
letter ‘ ’
1706
100 DIGITS
3
English
Mathematician
John Machin
8
4
4
6
0
9
5
5
1844
200 DIGITS
0
5
8
2
5
3
5
9
4
0
8
1
2
8
4
0 5 5 5 9 6 4 4 6 2 2 9 4 8 9
5 2 1 1
5 4 9
9 3 8
3 0 3
7 0 1
8 1
0 2
9
6
4 1
4 4
2 8
2 8
5 0
8 1
7 4
0
97
11
56
8 1
6
5
9
3
3
4
4
6
1
2
8
4
7
5
SOURCES: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, DEPT. OF MATHEMATICS,
RANDOMHISTORY.COM, ѕH