[OP]
Contributor
Anyone know why it's called Pi? I know the Greeks did some of the early work, but it could have been called "Alpha" or "Beta" or...
Mike
[Today is 3/14 and the first digits of Pi are 3.14]
[Perhaps it was called Pi because Pi deals with the relationships of a circle and a pie is round. So they picked the Greek letter that sounded like pie]
Last edited by Mike Henderson; 03-14-2018 at 10:23 AM.
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Contributor
I think you hit on it Mike. Everybody knows pi are round. The surface area of pie contradicts that because it says pi r sq.
George
Making sawdust regularly, occasionally a project is completed.
Member
Isn't it ironic that Steven hawking died on Pi day
Member
ironic or very freaky?
Member
And Hawking was born 300 years to the day Galileo Galilei died!Originally Posted by Jerome Stanek
Contributor
Hope this tee shirt with pi depicted on it doesn't raise too many hackles:
Tee shirt.jpg
It is kind of a left coast sort of thing. Especially on April 20th.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Moderator
From this, it's a shorthand for "perimeter":
"The symbol “π” and the term “pi” come from the Greek alphabet, where “π” is merely the old school version of “p”; these titles were slapped onto the 3.14 mathematical constant in the early 18th century by mathematician William Jones, who merely used “pi” as an abbreviated form of “perimeter” (because of the number’s connection to circles and circumference and all)."
https://www.primermagazine.com/2009/...-origins-of-pi
For those who don't know, some quick approximations for pi:
22/7 (common but pretty poor, 3.1429, but usually good enough for the wood shop)
My favorite:
355/113 (extremely good)
This one is easy to remember. Take the first three odd digits 1, 3, and 5, use each twice for 113355, split the string into two and divide the first half into the second: 355/113. This gives pi to better than six significant digits:
3.14159292 vs
3.14159265 for pi
JKJ
Contributor
We had Pi day at work as usual.
$3.15 for a slice of pie, we had apple and strawberry/rhubarb.
the money goes to a local charity............Rod.
We went to Blaze Pizza where a pizza "pie" was $3.14.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute
Member
I only celebrate Tau Day (June 28). Take a look: https://tauday.com/
It's a nice "manifesto" explaining why Tau=2Pi is a better number to use.
[OP]
Contributor
I tried to go to Blaze today for the Pi Day special ($3.14 for a pizza) but the line was too long. I gave up and went somewhere else.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
[OP]
Contributor
The only advantage I see to Tau is that you don't have to write the 2 in 2Pi. And that's a small advantage.
The area of a circle is given by Pi*r^2. If you go to Tau, it turns into 1/2 Tau*r^2
The argument for Tau is just not compelling so the world will continue to use Pi.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
The line where we were was also long, but it moved quickly.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute
Two pies are always better than one.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute
Moderator
Unless perhaps they are cow pies. Unless perhaps those are fertilizer for the rhubarb.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote