Archimede's Constant in Everyday Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Archimede's Constant in Everyday Life - Essay Example Originally, according to the Webster Dictionary, π is the 16th letter of the Greek Alphabet series. The constant π is called so because it is the first letter of the Greek Letter word perimeter. The first person to use this Greek letter word for the denoting the value of pi was William Jones. In-plane geometry, the constant pi shows the relationship that exists between the circumference and diameter of a circle, regardless of its size. This constant remains the same regardless of the size of the circle. So, π = C/d serves as the basic relationship. Further modification can also help to rewrite the relationship as π = C/r2. The number is also transcendental; it is a number that is not a root of any polynomial with rational coefficients, or it is not an algebraic number of any degree. The value of pi is 3.141519...The origin of this constant can be traced back to the times of 400 BC in ancient Greece; this was the first time there has been evidence of recording the cons tant pi by a mathematician. Greeks, especially ancient Greece has been known for making giant leaps in the field of geometry and the identification of this constant does not come as a surprise. In later years of 200-300 BC, it was Archimedes who was able to approximate the figure of 22/7 for pi, for the first time ever. After Archimedes’ death, the Romans took control over the world. They are not known for the mathematical achievements and research into this wonderful constant was next to zero at this time.After the dark ages of the Roman invasion, pi gained activity again in the Renaissance period in Europe. In the 1700s, after the invention of the calculator, the fastest calculation method for pi was developed by Leonhard Euler. Now that we have the facility of supercomputers it has been found that the constant goes up to 206, 158, 430, 000 digits and counting!