What if pi were a different number?
Aside from leading almost immediately to a whole mess of mathematical contradictions and paradoxes, if π were different it would change the results of a tremendous number of (one could argue: all) calculations, and the fundamental forces and constants of the universe would increase or decrease by varying amounts.
Why is pi not exact?
Pi is an irrational number, which means that it is a real number that cannot be expressed by a simple fraction. That’s because pi is what mathematicians call an “infinite decimal” — after the decimal point, the digits go on forever and ever. (These rational expressions are only accurate to a couple of decimal places.)
Why is 3.14 a special number?
Because the length of a near-circular loop is like the circumference of a circle, while the straight-line distance from one bend to the next is diameter-like, it makes sense that the ratio of these lengths would be pi-like.
Is there a repeating pattern in pi?
After thousands of years of trying, mathematicians are still working out the number known as pi or “π”. We have known since the 18th century that we will never be able to calculate all the digits of pi because it is an irrational number, one that continues forever without any repeating pattern.
What if Pi wasn’t 3?
If Pi wasn’t 3.1415 and so on, circles wouldn’t exist as we know them today. I also found out there was a mathematician in Indiana who was convinced Pi was actually 3.2. He even tried to make it a law so all the students in the state would have to use that number in their math classes. Of course, it didn’t pass.
What is Pi in math?
Today we think of pi as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter (3.14…).
Should Pi be changed to 6?
Palais originally argued that pi should be changed to equal 6.28 while others prefer giving that number a new name altogether.
Why is the value of Pi used to measure circumference?
The original use of π had to do with the relationship between the circular measurement of circles (their circumferences) and the straight line measurement of them (their radius or diameter). If π = 3.14… then it is the diameter that is related to the circumference. If π = 6.28… then it is the radius that is related.