Pi
Pi (fÎ) is one of the most essential yet vexing numbers in all of mathematics. The quest for the full value of this number encompasses almost all of man?fs history, from the advent of civilization to the present day technology-based world. Throughout the centuries, many brilliant men have searched for ways to find the extent of pi. Whether they knew it or not, these men were participating in one of the most consequential and important investigations of all time. The significance of pi, not yet fully known even to this day, is one which has been shown in almost all fields of science and mathematics. Pi is commonly defined as the ratio of a circle?fs circumference to its diameter (fÎ=c/d.) It is an irrational number, meaning it is not equal to any fraction. It is also a transcendental number. Being transcendental means that pi is not the root of any polynomial equation with rational, or fractional, coefficients (Beckmann). Today?fs commonly accepted value of pi up to 2,000 digits can be found in Diagram 1.2. Today, pi can be used in navigation, engineering, architecture, agriculture and many other fields. But, perhaps, the most important use for pi is in the field of mathematics where even today, pi is still helping mathe
857713427577896091736371787214684409012249534301465495853710507922796892589235 174502841027019385211055596446229489549303819644288109756659334461284756482337 823547816360093417216412199245863150302861829745557067498385054945885869269956 While this somewhat primitive quest for pi was going on in Europe, the scene in the rest of the world was quite different. The Mayans in Central America were very advanced in their mathematics. Despite no remaining records of their value for pi, we can assume that their value was much more accurate than their counterparts in Europe mainly due to their previous discovery of zero. In China, up until the third century BCE the commonly accepted value for pi was 3. It was not for hundreds of years that the Chinese began to unravel the mysteries of pi. In 263 CE, a Chinese man named Liu Hui independently discovered the method of exhaustion. He found pi to equal 3.1416. Yet, the most famous Chinese mathematicians were Tsu Ch?fung-chih and his son, Tsu Keng-chih. In the fifth century CE, they inscribed a polygon with 24,576 sides and therefore deduced pi to be 3.1415929. This value, only 8-millionths of one percent from the now-accepted value was not surpassed by anyone until the fifteenth century CE. (Blatner). The only other notable mathematician of this time was Brahmagupta in India during the seventh century CE. He believed that using a pattern, he could approximate pi. He calculated the perimeters of larger and larger inscribed polygons within a circle to equal ?ã9.65, ?ã9.81, ?ã9.86 and ?ã9.87. He then mistakenly tried to complete the pattern and find pi as a clean ?ã10. This value of course is very incorrect (Beckmann).
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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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