Post by Lonewolf on Mar 14, 2013 16:44:57 GMT
Happy Pi Day! On March 14, mathematicians, scientists and everyone else who just loves pi (or pie) celebrate Pi Day—so named for the Greek symbol π, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. The number’s first three digits are 3.14, so its holiday (which was officially designated by the House of Representatives in 2009) falls on 3/14.
Pi has been around for quite a while. Although the Babylonians and Egyptians gave estimates of the number nearly 4,000 years ago, the first accurate calculation was conducted by Archimedes of Syracuse around 250 BC. The famous mathematician used the Pythagorean Theorem to find that the number was between 3 1/7 and 3 10/71. But mathematicians didn't start using the symbol π until 1706, when the English mathematician William Jones used it to indicate the number.
more:
www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/14/pi-day-2013-pie-314-celebrations_n_2875385.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl1|sec3_lnk1%26pLid%3D283596
Pi has been around for quite a while. Although the Babylonians and Egyptians gave estimates of the number nearly 4,000 years ago, the first accurate calculation was conducted by Archimedes of Syracuse around 250 BC. The famous mathematician used the Pythagorean Theorem to find that the number was between 3 1/7 and 3 10/71. But mathematicians didn't start using the symbol π until 1706, when the English mathematician William Jones used it to indicate the number.
more:
www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/14/pi-day-2013-pie-314-celebrations_n_2875385.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl1|sec3_lnk1%26pLid%3D283596
