Circles, Maths and Pi Day

Pi, or the Greek letter π, is the symbol that represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by mathematics suporters around the world on March (3rd month), 14th. Pi = 3.141592653589793238 ...

Pi is an irrational number and a transcendental number. An irrational number is a real number that cannot be written as a fraction. Its decimal expansion neither terminate nor repeate following a pattern; it continues infinitely. A transcedental number is an irrational number that it is not an algebraic number meaning that it is not the root of any integer polynomial.

The symbol for pi was first used in 1706 by William Jones (below left picture), but was popular after it was adopted by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler (below right picture) in 1737. Learn more about Pi.

Six Books of Euclid

"A rare and beautiful geometry primer from the 19th century.

Red, yellow, blue - and of course black - are the colours that Oliver Byrne employs for the figures and diagrams in his most unusual 1847 edition of Euclid, published by William Pickering and printed by Chiswick Press, and which prompt the surprised reader to think of Mondrian. The author makes it clear in his subtitle that this is a didactic measure intended to distinguish his edition from all others: "The Elements of Euclid in which coloured diagrams and symbols are used instead of letters for the greater ease of learners."

Oliver Byrne (c. 1810-c. 1880) was an Irish author and civil engineer. Little is known about his life, though he wrote a considerable number of books. As Surveyor of Her Majesty's Settlements in the Falkland Islands, Byrne had already published mathematical and engineering works, but never anything like his edition on Euclid. This remarkable example of Victorian printing has been described as one of the oddest and most beautiful books of the 19th century.

Each proposition is set in Caslon italic, with a four-line initial, while the rest of the page is a unique riot of red, yellow and blue."

Reference: Amazon.com, Editorial review, product description.

Pi is the most recognized mathematical constant in the world.

3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862

08998628034825342117067982148086513282306647093844609550582231725359408128481

11745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196442881097566593344612847564823

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83479775356636980742654252786255181841757467289097777279380008164706001614524

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ReferenceTURNBULL WWW SERVER, School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences

University of St Andrews

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) briefly worked on "squaring the circle."

Klaus Schröer in his, Das Geheimnes der Proportionsstudie, published by Waxmann Publisher, Germany in 1998, was the first to recognize that Leonardo da Vinci, in his Vitruvian Man, is attempting to square the circle, to demonstrate how a square and circle of equal area can be created.

'The Vitruvian Man is a world-renowned drawing created by Leonardo da Vinci around the year 1487 It is accompanied by notes based on the work of Vitruvius. The drawing, which is in pen and ink on paper, depicts a nude male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and simultaneously inscribed in a circle and square. The drawing and text are sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less often, Proportions of Man. It is stored in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, Italy, and, like most works on paper, is displayed only occasionally.'

Reference: Image and citation from WORLD -MYSTERIES.com, Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci

was born on Pi Day

The well renowned mathematician Albert Eistein was born on Pi Day, 14 March 1879. A famous quote from Einstein "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."

Albert Einstein

Buy This Allposters.com

I have always been fascinated by these crop shapes. The geometric pattern in this image shows a coded image which represents the first ten digits of pi - 3.141592654. This complex crop circle appeared in a field near Barbury Castle, an iron-age hill fort in Wiltshire, England.

The astrophysicist Michael Reed, said:

"The tenth digit has even been correctly rounded up. The little dot near the centre is the decimal point.

"The code is based on 10 angular segments with the radial jumps being the indicator of each segment.

"Starting at the centre and counting the number of one-tenth segments in each section contained by the change in radius clearly shows the values of the first 10 digits in the value of pi."

Reference: "Baffling Crop Circles Equal Pi." Metro.co.uk. June 18, 2008. Accessed: June 15, 2009.

This puzzle looks complicated but it is so easy to read once you learn how to read it. The coded image depicts 3.141592654, the first ten digits of Pi.

Step 1. The exterior circle was divided into ten equal parts (a bit like a dartboard). It is quite easy to find the ten staggered edges located at strategic points around the crop circle. There are ten sectors of the circle because there are 10 digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. This sets the basic framework.

Step 2. Each number in Pi is represented in the diagram by a corresponding number of coloured blocks. It begins in the centre with the first number three, 3, which is represented by three red blocks moving in a clockwise direction. These are the blocks between the first edge and the second edge.

Step 3. Moving around the circle, the decimal point is represented by a small circle.

Step 4. Moving around the circle to the next edge, there is only one sector covered, the green one, which means that the next number is one, 1.

Step 5. The next edge is 4 steps away, the purple sectors.

Step 6. By following this pattern, Dr Mike Reed found the next seven digits of the number Pi: one orange sector, 1, five blue sectors, 5, nine yellow sectors, 9, two purple sectors, 2, six red sectors, 6, five green sectors, 5, four dark blue sectors, 4. The three circles at the end represent three dots meaning that the number goes forever, to infinity.

How easy was that!?

Reference: Image and info from Mail online

There are different and diverse opinions about this movie, however one thing is for sure: p is a very intriguing number.

'Patterns exist everywhere: in nature, in science, in religion, in business. Max Cohen (played hauntingly by Sean Gullette) is a mathematician searching for these patterns in everything. Yet, he's not the only one, and everyone from Wall Street investors, looking to break the market, to Hasidic Jews, searching for the 216-digit number that reveals the true name of God, are trying to get their hands on Max. This dark, low-budget film was shot in black and white by director Darren Aronofsky. With eerie music, voice-overs, and overt symbolism enhancing the somber mood, Aronofsky has created a disturbing look at the world. Max is deeply paranoid, holed up in his apartment with his computer Euclid, obsessively studying chaos theory. Blinding headaches and hallucinogenic visions only feed his paranoia as he attempts to remain aloof from the world, venturing out only to meet his mentor, Sol Robeson (Mark Margolis), who for some mysterious reason feels Max should take a break from his research. This movie is complex--occasionally too complex--but the psychological drama and the loose sci-fi elements make this a worthwhile, albeit consuming, watch. Pi won the Director's Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.' --Jenny Brown Amazon.com Editorial review

Rules 2008: Each row, column, and jigsaw region must contain exactly the first twelve digits of pi, including repeats: 3.14159265358. Notice that each region will contain two 1's, two 3's, three 5's, and no 7's. This puzzle is the most fun you'll ever have memorizing the first twelve digits of p.

Brainfreeze Puzzles have come up with Pi Day Sudoku. Their Pi Day Sudoku puzzles are free to use and distribute. If you want to download the printable PDF version just click on the sudoku of your choice and the link will take you to the puzzle.

Pi Day Sudoku 2008

Rules 2009: Fill in the grid so that each row, column, and jigsaw region contains 1-9 exactly once and p three times.

Pi Day Sudoku 2009

Rules 2010: Fill in the grid so that each row, column, and block contains 1-9 exactly once.

Pi Day Sudoku 2011

Rules 2011: Fill in the grid so that each row, column, and block contains 1-9 exactly once.

Pi Day Sudoku 2011

If you click here you can find where in Pi your birthday first occurs. This is fun. Enjoy!

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