Today is a very special day for maths nerds around the world. The 14th of March every year (3.14 as the Americans put it) is recognised as Pi Day. But what is pi, and why do we care?
Pi is a number that refers to the amount of times the diameter of a circle (the distance from edge to edge straight through its centre) fits into its circumference (edge length). This number is commonly simplified to 3.14 or 22/7, but it actually has a never-ending, never-repeating list of digits after its decimal point.
For thousands of years, mathematicians calculated more and more precise measurements of pi. Using computers, we now know the first 50 trillion digits. However, pi is probably most famous for being the number that people memorise. The world record is held by Rajveer Meena, who recited 70 thousand digits in 2015 (I can do the first 45).
Yes, it’s nerdy, but why not celebrate? Hope you all have a brilliant Pi Day!
Lachlan Writes Science 