Find out more about pi in our Pi day special, including fabulous pi facts, Alice鈥檚 adventures in algebra, and more mathemagical trickery
Pi day has rolled around once more: the day when mathematics fans everywhere 鈥� particularly in the US, where the date is written 3.14 鈥� celebrate everyone鈥檚 favourite mathematical constant.
If you are wondering about the best time of day to celebrate, unfortunately you have already missed it. The first few digits, 3.14159, translates this year into March 14 at 1:59 am. It will be at a more sociable hour in four years鈥� time, when the festivities should kick off on 3.14.15 at 9:26:53.
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Don鈥檛 let the niceties of timing put you off, though. Princeton University has already celebrated with an , culminating in a celebration of Pi day itself. The four-day event included pi recitations, pie eating contests, and pi shopping deals for $3.14 or $31.40. Today is also Albert Einstein鈥檚 birthday, leading to the inevitable creation of the .
But don鈥檛 worry if you can鈥檛 make it to a pi party in person. You can still dial in. Pi fan has set up a 鈥� call the US telephone number 253 243-2504 to hear the digits read out. Don鈥檛 listen for too long, though: since pi goes on forever, who knows how much it could add to your phone bill.
[video_player id=鈥漣oFpFKGP鈥漖Video: What pi sounds like
Musical pi
If that sounds a bit dry, you might prefer Michael John Blake鈥檚 (see video above). And while you are on a musical tip, you might enjoy entertainer David C. Perry鈥檚 tribute , which features 鈥渢he most unsingable chorus ever鈥�.
Too jocular? Perhaps you would prefer a more cerebral challenge. The , now in its fourth consecutive year, offers 30 logical puzzles to put your pi knowledge to the test. Last year, nearly 100,000 participants from 120 countries solved more than 150,000 puzzles; maybe this year you will be among them.
Did we say that pi was everyone鈥檚 favourite constant? Not quite. Even constants have enemies. Earlier this year physicist Michael Hartl told New 杏吧原创 that pi鈥檚 iron grip on our affections is blinding us to the fact that it鈥檚 not the most natural choice of 鈥渃ircle constant鈥�.
Hartl says we would be better off using tau (equal to two pi), which allows geometric relationships to be stated . But Hartl鈥檚 no party pooper: you can simply celebrate instead.
Find out more about pi in our Pi day special , including fabulous pi facts, Alice鈥檚 adventures in algebra, and more mathemagical trickery