15/03/2021
Today is March 14th (3-14), so it’s π (Pi) day!
Ok, so it’s not health or nutrition, but nothing says “science” more than physics and math. And, in honor of the passing of physicist Stephen Hawking yesterday, it seems appropriate to celebrate Pi (π) day today.
Today is the 32nd anniversary of the math-inspired holiday. Pi is an important foundation of mathematics and physics. It’s used to calculate circumference and volume with equations such as A = πr2, and the volume of a cylinder, V = πr2h.
Fun Facts –
• The first calculation of pi as 3.14 is attributed to Archimedes, a Greek mathematician in the 3rd century B.C.
• A Chinese mathematician Zu Chongzhi (429-501 A.D.) calculated pi to 6 decimal places.
• The first use of the symbol π is credited to Welsh math teacher William Jones in 1706.
• The current record for computing the digits of pi goes to Peter Trueb, who set the record last year at over 22 trillion digits.
• NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab utilizes only 15 digits of pi to calculate interplanetary travel, and 39 digits of pi would be sufficient to calculate the circumference of the known universe.
How do you celebrate π day? And yes, eating pie does count.