Pi Day, celebrated annually on March 14^th (3/14) honors the mathematical constant Pi. Pi is a mathematical constant which is the ratio of circumference of a circle to its diameter. This day is an opportunity to celebrate the beauty and significance of mathematics, particularly the fascinating properties of Pi.

Here are some fun facts about Pi:

• Pi is an irrational number, meaning its decimal representation never ends and never repeats.
• Pi has been calculated to trillions of digits, but its exact value is unknown. The first 100 digits of the decimal representation of Pi is 𝜋 = 3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679. If we look up to the first 3 digits then it resembles with the date 14^th March (3/14)
• Pi is used in various fields including physics, engineering and computer science.

History

Pi day was first celebrated in the year 1988 by American physicist Larry Shaw to make mathematics more relatable and fun. Coincidentally, the day is also the birthday of the greatest physicist Sir Albert Einstein, which has brought a different dimension to this day.

Celebration

Pi day has been celebrated throughout the world in various ways:

• Bake delicious pie (as homophone of “Pi”) and share it with friends and family.
• Organize a competition to memorize as many digits of pi as one can.
• Participate in a pi recitation competition or watch videos of others attempting the feat.
• Explore the history and applications of pi.

Whether you’re a math enthusiast or just someone who enjoys a good reason to indulge in delicious circular treats, Pi Day is a fun and educational occasion worth commemorating.

Time to think about “Tau”(t)

As passionate as people are about pi, there are some who believe things would be a whole lot better if we replaced pi with a number called tau, which is equal to 2π or 6.28. Because many formulas call for 2π, tau-enthusiasts say tau would provide a more elegant and efficient way to express those formulas. Every year on Pi Day, a small debate ensues. While we won’t take sides, we will say that pi is more widely used at NASA because it has applications far beyond geometry, where 2π is found most often. Perhaps most important, though, for pi- and pie-lovers alike is there’s no delicious homophone for tau.

Dr. Sandip Dutta, Assistant Professor, DAITM