In everyday life, most people rarely encounter the number pi.
At the same time, it is a very important mathematical constant, without which, for example, telephones and radio would not have appeared.
What is this number pi?
The mathematical constant in question is the ratio of the circumference (C) to the diameter (d) of a circle.
This ratio is constant and equal to pi for any size of circle.
Pi is an irrational number, meaning that its decimal representation does not end (e.g. 1/4 = 0.25) and does not repeat (e.g. 1/6 = 0.166666…).
Why is the number pi called that?
More than 4 thousand years have passed since mankind became aware of the number pi.
Attempts to calculate its meaning were made by the ancient Babylonians and ancient Egyptians, but their records have not survived to this day.
The first recorded calculation of the value of pi was made by Archimedes, who lived from 287 to 212 BC.
However, until the 18th century, this number had no name, and only in 1706, the British mathematician William Jones published a book in which he designated the number pi with the symbol π. The 16th letter of the Greek alphabet was not chosen by chance, because it is with this letter that the word periphery begins, meaning “perimeter” or “measure around”.
However, the new term only firmly entered into common usage 30 years later.
Earlier we talked about why most people are right-handed and there are very few left-handed people.
