14 Μαρτίου 2008

3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971

άρθρο από bbc
as we're all taught at school, π represents the number you get when you divide the distance around a circle (its circumference) by the distance across (the diameter).
with just a string and a ruler you can quickly measure that π must be just over three-and-an-eighth (3.125). with more precise measurements, you may be able to narrow it down to 3.14.
the rough ratio of pi 3.14 gives us the date for π day. march 14, or 3/14 in american dating style, makes sense for a celebration of this famous constant.
coincidentally, π day is also the birthday of albert einstein, who no doubt knew more than a little about π. π day celebrants, usually children with an enthusiastic teacher and a varying degree of personal interest in the subject, learn about pi, circles, and, if they're lucky, eat baked pies of various sorts.
famous constant
π, more commonly known by the 16th letter of the greek alphabet, is the most widely-known mathematical constant in the world. even long after people forget their school lessons, they still recognise the symbol.
π conjures a sense of mystery, so the symbol makes regular appearances in popular culture - it's the secret code in both alfred hitchcock's torn curtain and the sandra bullock vehicle the net.
and while π is a number, its importance goes far beyond simple geometry. π represents a deep universal mystery - how is it that something this basic, this fundamental to maths and science, could turn out to be so incredibly difficult to pin down?
in fact, it's literally impossible to know what π is, because its digits rattle off into infinity.
while there are many infinitely long numbers in maths, π is the only one in which an infinitely simple idea - the circle - unfolds into an infinitely complex value. this paradox drives many people to distraction.
life's work
one of the most endearing and enduring qualities of humans is that we're so often sure that we can find the answer to any problem if we just try hard enough. for 3,500 years, humankind has attempted to solve the puzzle of π, also called "squaring the circle", calculating the exact ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. however, no matter how hard anyone tries, they find only a new approximation.
in ancient greece, the great mathematician archimedes worked tirelessly to discover the ratio, uncovering only a few digits of accuracy. when he tried to stop a roman soldier from blundering over his work by shouting "do not touch my circles" he was unceremoniously murdered.
by the time ludolf van ceulen died in 1610, he had spent many years of his life tediously calculating π, resulting in only 35 accurate digits. and in 1873, william shanks announced he had found 707 digits over years of hand-cramping work; unfortunately, he had made a mistake after the 527th place. the following digits were all wrong.
the most recent attempt, by a japanese computer scientist in 2002, found 1.24 trillion digits of π. to put all this in perspective, even an astrophysicist, attempting to measure galaxies, would never need more than 10 or 15 digits of precision. but π beckons us on further. some mathematicians believe that if we could only find some pattern in π, even some hint that there were more fours than sevens, it could lead to a huge breakthrough in our understanding of the universe.
the late physicist carl sagan, in his novel contact, imagined a time when earth scientists were sufficiently able to unravel enough of π to find encoded messages from our creators-messages that would allow our primitive race to leap into a greater universal awareness. after all, if you were going to hide a long numeric message in the very fabric of our reality, π would be a natural place to do it.
fundamental equations
nevertheless, π continues to frustrate. in the late 19th century, it was categorically proven that π was infinitely long and could not be solved with any finite number of equations. that hasn't stopped modern-day circle-squarers, who continue to claim that mathematicians are wrong and that π is really just 3 or 3.25 or some other finite-but-erroneous answer.
π day is a time to honour not just a number and our fascination with it, but also the essential truth that there are some things we simply cannot know. we can only get close to knowing.
π shows up everywhere. in mathematics, π appears in many fundamental equations that have nothing to do with circles. in science, πi is inextricable from measuring everything from ocean waves to economic statistics.
π is found in the very measurements of the great pyramid at giza. and if you divide the length of a river from source to mouth across a gently sloping plane by its direct length "as the crow flies", you'll find π.
π also appears where you least expect it. religious scholars point to the old testament which, when describing the measurements of solomon's temple, implies that π is only three. In the transcripts of the famed o.j. simpson trial, you can find arguments between the judge and an fbi agent about the actual value of π.
for a time, givenchy offered a men's cologne emblazoned only with the symbol. nobel prize winner wislawa szymborska wrote a poem about π, and pop star kate bush sang 100 digits of π on her album aerial.
in this age of high-tech precision instruments, where we assure ourselves that perfection is attainable, π is an ever-present, sometimes grating reminder that there are puzzles that can be solved and there are mysteries that, perhaps, can not.
by david blatner
... και τώρα...
καλό 'κάψιμο'!

7 σχόλια:

Attalanti είπε...

η αγαπημένη ταινία του αδερφού μου - μού έλεγε σε όλη τη διάρκεια ότι από ένα σημείο και μετά θα έχει νόημα. :))

Skouliki είπε...

no way.... θες να φρικαρω καλε

Ανώνυμος είπε...

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Ανώνυμος είπε...

The admirable number pi:

three point one four one.

All the following digits are also initial,

five nine two because it never ends.

It can`t be comprehended six five three five at a glance,

eight nine by calculation,

seven nine or imagination,

not even three two three eight by wit, that is, by comparison

four six to anything else

two six four three in the world.

The longest snake on earth calls it quits at about forty feet.

Likewise, snakes of myth and legend, though they may hold out a bit longer.

The pageant of digits comprising the number pi

doesn`t stop at the page`s edge.

It goes on across the table, through the air,

over a wall, a leaf, a bird`s nest, clouds, straight into the sky,

through all the bottomless, bloated heavens.

Oh how brief - a mouse tail, a pigtail - is the tail of a comet!

How feeble the star`s ray, bent by bumping up against space!

While here we have two three fifteen three hundred nineteen

my phone number your shirt size the year

nineteen hundred and seventy-three the sixth floor

the number of inhabitants sixty-five cents

hip measurement two fingers a charade, a code,

in which we find hail to thee, blithe spirit, bird thou never wert

alongside ladies and gentlemen, no cause for alarm,

as well as heaven and earth shall pass away,

but not the number pi, oh no, nothing doing,

it keeps right on with its rather remarkable five,

its uncommonly fine eight,

its far from final seven,

nudging, always nudging a sluggish eternity

to continue.

zekia είπε...

μην το σκέφτεσαι πολύ το π ελεφαντάκο, γιατί τον είδες το φίλο μας πως κατάληξε...

the BluElephant είπε...

:)

Selini Σελήνη είπε...

τα σπάει...
αλλά μόνο για μία φορά...