Most people’s first slice of ‘Pi’ (π) is at school where it is generally made palatable as either 3.14 or 22/7.

Pi is a number of great importance in math, science and engineering.  So, what exactly is Pi? Have you ever wondered how the number was derived?

π (Pi) is actually the sixteenth letter in the Greek alphabet. It is the equivalent of the English letter “P”.

We now use that symbol for Pi in mathematics. The reason we use the letter “Pi’ is that it is the first letter in the Greek word for periphery, the term they used for the circumference of a circle.

In simple mathematical concept, Pi (π) is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. It is also the ratio between the area of a circle and its radius squared.

Draw some circles, any size. Measure the diameter (the distance across the middle) of each circle, and then carefully measure its circumference (the distance around the outside). Now, divide the circumference by its diameter, what number do you get? Observe that regardless of its size, every circle will always produce the magical number - Pi.

Pi is an irrational number which means it does not have an exact fraction or decimal equivalent. It has an apparently random decimal string of infinite length. The infinite sequence of digits have fascinated many mathematicians to investigate the number’s properties. Despite the help of super computers which can calculate Pi to trillions of digits, no simple pattern in the digits could be found. Till date, in algebra, the most commonly used approximations are 22/7 and 3.14. However, it is important to note that these values do not equal Pi.

Pi has its day too. Math lovers, teachers and families around the world celebrate Pi Day on 14th of March. On this day, people eat pie; sing Pi Day songs and bead Pi string (a physical manifestation of the never ending value of Pi). Pi is certainly an amazing little/long number!