π (or pi) is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle's
circumference to its diameter. It is approximately equal to 3.14159. π
is an irrational number, which means that it cannot be expressed exactly
as a ratio of two integers, although it is roughly approximated by 22/7.
It is a transcendental number – a number that cannot be produced with
a finite sequence of algebraic operations (sums, products, powers, and
roots). The transcendence of π implies that it is impossible to solve
the ancient challenge of squaring the circle with a compass and ruler.
The digits in the decimal representation of π appear to be random.
Because its definition relates to the circle, π is found in many
formulae in trigonometry and geometry, such as Euler's identity,
eiπ + 1 = 0. It is also found in formulae from other branches of
science, such as cosmology, number theory, statistics, fractals,
thermodynamics, mechanics, and electromagnetism.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1793:
Two days after becoming the first recorded European to complete
a transcontinental crossing of North America north of Mexico, Scottish-
Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie reached the westernmost point of
his journey and inscribed his name on a rock.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Mackenzie_(explorer)>
1802:
Gia Long conquered Hanoi and unified modern-day Vietnam, which
had experienced centuries of feudal warfare.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gia_Long>
1934:
Bank robber John Dillinger (pictured), whose exploits were
sensationalized across the United States, was shot dead by police in an
ambush outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dillinger>
1991:
American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after police discovered human remains in his
apartment.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer>
2002:
The Israeli Defense Forces dropped a bomb on the home of Salah
Shehade, the leader of the military arm of Hamas, killing him and his
family.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salah_Shehade>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
roundelay:
(music) A poem or song having a line or phrase repeated at regular
intervals.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/roundelay>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is better the truth should come little by little. I have learned
that, being a priest. Perhaps, in the old days, they ate knowledge too
fast. Nevertheless, we make a beginning. It is not for the metal alone
we go to the Dead Places now — there are the books and the writings.
They are hard to learn. And the magic tools are broken — but we can
look at them and wonder. At least, we make a beginning. And, when I am
chief priest we shall go beyond the great river. We shall go to the
Place of the Gods — the place newyork — not one man but a company.
We shall look for the images of the gods and find the god ASHING and the
others — the gods Lincoln and Biltmore and Moses. But they were men
who built the city, not gods or demons. They were men. I remember the
dead man's face. They were men who were here before us. We must build
again.
--Stephen Vincent Benét
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Vincent_Ben%C3%A9t>
Show replies by thread