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| My husband and his celebratory T-Shirt! |
Today is a special day, especially for mathematicians.
Can anyone tell me why?
Sorry I can’t wait for an answer. Today
is Pi π day! And not just here, but all over the world!
Now
folks, this is a big deal as it only happens once in one hundred years. Putting
it that way, I realize my Dad didn’t see one of these. The last one happened in
1915 and he wasn’t born yet. And he died two years ago, so he isn’t here to see
this one. But I am, and almost everyone else I love, and I think that’s pretty
cool.
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| Never-ending story... |
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| Yep, I'd eat this "pi" |
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| My husband has this on a t-shirt |
Now,
what does Pi day mean, exactly? Well, there is a “Pi” day every year, celebrating
the first three digits 314. But this year Pi day is different, and much more
special. Not being a math head myself, my husband explained it to me this way. It
means that today, March 14, 2015 at exactly 9:26.53 am, is the only day/time in
one hundred years where we will find the first ten decimals from the equation “Pi”
in our date/time line. The first ten numbers (decimals) of Pi are 3141592653,
which, as you can see can be the date 3/14/2015 (March 14, 2015) and time of 9:26.53 am. I guess it could
be at nine pm, unless one is using the 24 hour clock.
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| A funny pi... |
This
is how Wikipedia explains it. “In the year 2015, Pi Day will have
special significance on 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 a.m. and p.m., with the date and
time representing the first 10 digits of π. That same second will also contain a precise instant corresponding to all
of the digits of π.
However, some argue that 9:26:54 a.m. and p.m. on 3/14/15 are more accurate
because of the 11th digit of π being 5, which would
cause the 10th digit to round up to 4.”
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| Use of Pi |
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| I don't get it, but another use of Pi |
I like the way my husband
explained it better…
Next
year we will only find five, the year after that, nothing, nada, not for
another one hundred years will this happen again. So go ahead, celebrate! Enjoy
the brief moment in history when you actually saw/lived through something as
cool as a solar eclipse, or turn of the century. You are living history. Cheer
on your moment of glory!
Right now
the Pi equation is over 1 trillion (that is 1billion millions) and still going. That means, if you were to write
them one after the other, at standard font, say font 11, they would stretch
from earth past the moon, and going! I wonder how far our mathematicians/computers will be in the π equation in
another hundred years…
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| Evidently, the sky is not the limit! |
For more
information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/Numbers/Math/Mathematical_Thinking/transcendentality_of_p.htm
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/Numbers/Math/Mathematical_Thinking/transcendentality_of_p.htm
And look what they're doing to celebrate it in France!
Images from:
Perhaps Pi is simply infinity.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa .. how fascinating .. I hadn't heard of this at all .. so I will be back to re-read and no doubt the story will feature in the papers too ... and elsewhere ... there are films out too ... maths ones. Congratulations to your hubby with his T-shirt ... I might look for some of those ...
ReplyDeleteMust go - got to leave early ... brilliant post - cheers Hilary
Thank you for your thorough explanation! I knew my kids were celebrating Pi Day at school, but I didn't realize the once-in-a-hundred-years significance. That's really neat! I think some Pie is definitely in order this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI learned this fun fact today, and had fun with it, even though I forgot to pay attention at 9.26.53.
ReplyDeleteThere were a lot of great Pi post on Facebook yesterday! :)
ReplyDeleteI should have read this yesterday. My nerdy kids were all about pi day yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThis Pi Day is much deeper than I'd thought. Of course, I missed it. And I happen to like Pie. :-)
ReplyDelete