PI DAY
3/14/13
* Definition of pi: Pi is the 16th letter in the Greek alphabet. It is equal to 3.141592 when shortened, but never ends.
* Archimedes-One of the major contributions Archimedes made to mathematics was his method for approximating the value of pi. It had long been recognized that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter was constant, and a number of approximations had been given up to that point in time. Archimedes was the first person to calculate the value of pi.
* Ptolemy- Ptolemy was an observer and mathematician who had written on astronomical topics such as conjunctions. He devised proofs and theorems in which he was able to evaluate pi. His calculations were pi= 3+17/120=3.14166.
* William Jones- Jones was a mathematician, known for his proposal for the use of the symbol π for pi to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
* PI Jokes
Question: What do you get if you divide the circumference of a jack-o-lantern by its diameter?
Answer: Pumpkin Pi! Q: What was Sir Isaac Newton's favorite dessert?
A: Apple pi!
Mathematician: Pi r squared
Baker: No! Pie are round, cakes are square!
* A transcendental number is a number that is not the root of any integer polynomial, meaning that it is not an algebraic number of any degree. Every real transcendental number must also be irrational, since a rational number is, by definition, an algebraic number of degree one. Ferdinand von Lindeman first called pi a transcendental number
* Irrational number is a real number that cannot be expressed as a rational number. In 1761 Lambert proved that Pi was irrational, that it can't be written as a ratio of integer numbers.
Web pages used:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pi