Welcome back to episode 9 of “Giants Helped Me Do It”, the podcast covering the innovations and inventions of the past from cultures all aorund the world.
Pi is a number that doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves in this day and age. However, considering, how important it to many of our crucial industries, as well as its significance in the past, it is worth taking the time to learn just how we came to our current level of understanding of this cool number.
In this episode we will span the history of Pi, beginning with the ancient Babylonians and moving through Egypt, Greece, China, India, the Middle Easst and beyond as Mathematicians through the ages work to get the most accurate value of pi possible.
Below are some images to help you picture how Archimedes method described in the episode:
And now to you! What is your favourite use for pi? What is your favourite story about encryption from the past? Let me know in the comments below!
Sources
Eisenlohr, August und British Museum. Dept. of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities. Ein mathematisches handbuch der alten Aegypter (Papyrus Rhind des British Museum). Leipzig, 1877. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/einmathematische00eise.
Peet, Thomas Eric (1882-1934). Peet, T. Eric - The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus British Museum 10057 and 10058 (1923). 1923. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/Peet_1923.
https://sites.math.rutgers.edu/~cherlin/History/Papers2000/wilson.html. Zugegriffen 5. Januar 2024.
Pi | Definition, Symbol, Number, & Facts | Britannica. 7. Dezember 2023, https://www.britannica.com/science/pi-mathematics.
Ye, Xiaojing. „The Search for the Value of Pi“. The Conversation, 11. März 2016, http://theconversation.com/the-search-for-the-value-of-pi-55744.
A Brief History of Pi (π) | Exploratorium. 20. März 2023, https://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/history-of-pi.
Zu Chongzhi | Mathematician, Engineer, Polymath | Britannica. 1. Januar 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zu-Chongzhi.
Al-Kashi | Biography & Facts | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Kashi. Zugegriffen 5. Januar 2024.
„Zu Chongzhi - Biography“. Maths History, https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Zu_Chongzhi/. Zugegriffen 5. Januar 2024.
Conversation, Xiaojing Ye, The. „The Long Search for the Value of Pi“. Scientific American, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-long-search-for-the-value-of-pi/. Zugegriffen 5. Januar 2024.
Jones, Phillip S. “Recent Discoveries in Babylonian Mathematics 1: Zero, Pi, and Polygons.” The Mathematics Teacher, vol. 50, no. 2, 1957, pp. 162–65. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27955350. Accessed 6 Jan. 2024.
Indian Mathematics | Ancient History, Vedic Texts & Contributions | Britannica. 16. November 2023, https://www.britannica.com/science/Indian-mathematics.
Satapatha Brahmana Part III (SBE41): Seventh Kâ<I>n</I><I>d</I>a: VII, 1, 1. First Adhyâya. First Brâhma<I>n</I>a. https://sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe41/sbe4155.htm. Zugegriffen 6. Januar 2024.
1 Kings 7:23 Then He Made the Sea of Cast Metal. It Was Round, Ten Cubits from Brim to Brim, and Five Cubits High, and a Line of Thirty Cubits Measured Its Circumference. | English Standard Version 2016 (ESV) | www.bible.com, https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1KI.7.23.ESV. Zugegriffen 6. Januar 2024.
Shen, Kangshen, u. a. The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art: Companion and Commentary. Oxford University Press, 1999.
Aryabhata | Achievements, Biography, & Facts | Britannica. 1. Januar 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aryabhata-I.
Aryabhata. The Aryabhatiya of Aryabhata. Übersetzt von Walter Eugene Clark, University of Chicago Press, 1930, https://www.wilbourhall.org/pdfs/aryabhatiyaenglish.pdf.
„Image 71 of The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing.“ Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_07462/?sp=71&st=image. Zugegriffen 8. Januar 2024.
al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa. The Algebra of Mohammed Ben Musa. Übersetzt von Frederic Rosen, J. L. Cox, Great Queen Street, London, 1831, https://www.wilbourhall.org/pdfs/The_Algebra_of_Mohammed_Ben_Musa2.pdf.
Happy Pi Day! | Research Computing Center. https://rcc.uchicago.edu/happy-pi-day. Zugegriffen 7. February 2024.
Mathematical Treasure: Van Ceulen on the Circle | Mathematical Association of America. https://maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-treasure-van-ceulen-on-the-circle. Zugegriffen 7. February 2024.
Pi Computation Wizard John Wrench Dies at Age 97 | Mathematical Association of America. https://maa.org/news/math-news/pi-computation-wizard-john-wrench-dies-at-age-97. Zugegriffen 7. February 2024.
The Man Who Invented Pi | History Today. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/man-who-invented-pi. Zugegriffen 7. February 2024.
Music credit:
"Return of the Mummy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Share this post