Last modified on January 14, 2007, at 01:52

Pi

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Pi is the name for the Greek letter π, which corresponds to the English letter p.

π is also the symbol used in mathematics for the ratio between the diameter of a circle and its circumference, and which appears in many other places.

π is an irrational number; this means that it cannot be expressed as a fraction, and (therefore) cannot be expressed exactly as a decimal no matter how many decimal places it is carried out to.

The value of π is approximately 3.14159. This value is precise enough for almost all ordinary purposes; it can, for example, be used to calculate the circumference of the Earth with an error of only 350 feet.

For rough purposes, the fraction 22/7 (= 3.14285...) is sometimes used.

In the Bible, 1 Kings 7:23 contains the famous passage "And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about." If it assumed that "round" means "circular," it seems to imply that the value of π is exactly 3.