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$\pi$: a biography of the world's most mysterious number

This enlightening and stimulating approach to mathematics will entertain lay readers while improving their mathematical literacy. We all learned that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter is called pi and that the value of this algebraic symbol is roughly 3.14. What we weren...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Posamentier, Alfred S, Lehmann, Ingmar
Lenguaje:eng
Publicado: Prometheus Books 2004
Materias:
Acceso en línea:http://cds.cern.ch/record/1546743
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author Posamentier, Alfred S
Lehmann, Ingmar
author_facet Posamentier, Alfred S
Lehmann, Ingmar
author_sort Posamentier, Alfred S
collection CERN
description This enlightening and stimulating approach to mathematics will entertain lay readers while improving their mathematical literacy. We all learned that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter is called pi and that the value of this algebraic symbol is roughly 3.14. What we weren't told, though, is that behind this seemingly mundane fact is a world of mystery, which has fascinated mathematicians from ancient times to the present. Simply put, pi is weird. Mathematicians call it a "transcendental number" because its value cannot be calculated by any combination of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and square root extraction. This elusive nature has led intrepid investigators over the years to attempt ever-closer approximations. In 2002, a Japanese professor using a supercomputer calculated the value to 1.24 trillion decimal places! Nonetheless, in this huge string of decimals there is no periodic repetition. In this delightful layperson's introduction to one of math's most interesting phenomena, Drs. Posamentier and Lehmann review pi's history from prebiblical times to the 21st century, the many amusing and mind-boggling ways of estimating p over the centuries, quirky examples of obsessing about pi (including an attempt to legislate its exact value), and useful applications of pi in everyday life, including statistics.
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spelling cern-15467432021-04-21T22:42:08Zhttp://cds.cern.ch/record/1546743engPosamentier, Alfred SLehmann, Ingmar$\pi$: a biography of the world's most mysterious numberMathematical Physics and MathematicsThis enlightening and stimulating approach to mathematics will entertain lay readers while improving their mathematical literacy. We all learned that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter is called pi and that the value of this algebraic symbol is roughly 3.14. What we weren't told, though, is that behind this seemingly mundane fact is a world of mystery, which has fascinated mathematicians from ancient times to the present. Simply put, pi is weird. Mathematicians call it a "transcendental number" because its value cannot be calculated by any combination of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and square root extraction. This elusive nature has led intrepid investigators over the years to attempt ever-closer approximations. In 2002, a Japanese professor using a supercomputer calculated the value to 1.24 trillion decimal places! Nonetheless, in this huge string of decimals there is no periodic repetition. In this delightful layperson's introduction to one of math's most interesting phenomena, Drs. Posamentier and Lehmann review pi's history from prebiblical times to the 21st century, the many amusing and mind-boggling ways of estimating p over the centuries, quirky examples of obsessing about pi (including an attempt to legislate its exact value), and useful applications of pi in everyday life, including statistics.Prometheus Booksoai:cds.cern.ch:15467432004
spellingShingle Mathematical Physics and Mathematics
Posamentier, Alfred S
Lehmann, Ingmar
$\pi$: a biography of the world's most mysterious number
title $\pi$: a biography of the world's most mysterious number
title_full $\pi$: a biography of the world's most mysterious number
title_fullStr $\pi$: a biography of the world's most mysterious number
title_full_unstemmed $\pi$: a biography of the world's most mysterious number
title_short $\pi$: a biography of the world's most mysterious number
title_sort $\pi$: a biography of the world's most mysterious number
topic Mathematical Physics and Mathematics
url http://cds.cern.ch/record/1546743
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