Mathematical Constant Pi

There are many constants in mathematics. The mathematicians are always fascinated by them. They try to find its value. Pi is one among them. We have been using it in our various calculations and are very important. If we take the circumference of a circle and divide it by its diameter, then we get the constant called Pi. The value of Pi is found to be approximately equal to 3.14159.Pi is sometimes represented by the symbol ∏. We have studied about the rational numbers. But the constant Pi is found to be irrational. It is sometimes represented by a fraction 22/7 for calculation purposes. But it does not represent the true value of Pi. It has several digits after the decimal point and they don’t repeat and also they don’t end. So, the digits of Pi after the decimal point go on. The history of Pi is quite interesting. The people found its existence in the 15th century.

Many great scientists and mathematicians have tried to find its value accurately. This process is an ongoing one. With the advent of technology and supercomputers its value has been found to several decimal places. Even values up to ten trillion places have been found out. The Pi value is also used in trigonometry. It is expressed in radians in trigonometry. Usually we measure angles in degrees, but in radians we use Pi. It is very important in the field of geometry as well. Many formula use Pi, without which many calculations are not possible. Even in aeronautical engineering and aerospace engineering calculations Pi plays a very important role.

So basically we need to understand what is the value of Pi to use it in calculations. It has infinite number of digits after the decimal point. It is not a rational number. It cannot be expressed as a number which can be written as P/Q. So, basically we can say Pi belongs to the set of irrational numbers. Finding the digits of Pi has going on over the years. But all those digits are not used by us in our calculations. Sometimes they are calculated by mathematicians to satisfy their curiosity. This process will go on. More results are coming out every day. We used to the use the value 3.14 of Pi in our calculations as it was very simple to use and the calculations would not become complex. This was done only to keep calculations simple.