| This contest is fueled by the following news: |
| | Pi Day is celebrated by some mathematicians on March 14 at 1:59 (in the American date system — 3/14; first digits of π = 3.14159). Usually, Pi Day is celebrated at 1:59 PM (in 12-hr format), but according to the 24 hr format, it is 13:59 and hence, Pi Day is preferred to be celebrated at night.
On this day, lauding speeches in the honor of number Pi are addressed applauding its roles in the life of mankind. Other popular activities on Pi Day are drawing the Pi symbol, figures of the world without Pi, eating Pi-shaped pies, drinking and playing the games beginning with “P”.
Albert Einstein was born on the 14th of March.
Pi Approximation Day is also celebrated on the 22nd of July (22/7).
The number Pi is a mathematical constant, expressing the relation of the length of circle to the length of its diameter. It is designated by the Greek alphabet letter “Pi”.
For the first time, Pi appeared in geometry in relation to the length of a circle in regards to the length of its diameter; however, it also appears in other branches of mathematics. The number Pi is irrational and transcendental.
For the first time, the Greek letter Pi was used by the British mathematician William Jones (1706) but it was widely accepted after the works of Leonard Euler. This designation occurs from the initial letter of the Greek words Piεριφέρεια — circle, periphery and Piερίμετρος — perimeter.
Archimedes, probably, offered the first method for calculating Pi in a mathematical manner. For this, he inscribed a circle and circumscribed regular polygons near the circle. Accepting the diameter of circle as 1, Archimedes considered the perimeter of the inscribed polygon as the lower bound of length of the circle and the perimeter of the circumscribed polygon as the upper bound. |
|
|
|
|
|