03-14-2006, 08:13 PM
From: Jack Wiedenman
On Tuesday, March 14 (or as it is written in Europe, 3.14), we
observe Pi Day at 1:59 pm (3.14159).
That's right, today is National Pi day, that famous mathematical
ratio between the circumference and the diameter.
Now to further complicate things, today is also the seventy-third
(73rd ) day of the year.
Dividing the 365 days of the year by 73 yields a quotient of five.
Well, the fifth letter of the alphabet happens to be "e" and the
most famous mathematician whose name begins with e is of course,
Albert Einstein - well, guess what . . . Today (pi day) happens to be
Einstein's birthday!
And, as an extra added attraction, the second most famous "e"
mathematician is Leonhard Euler from whom we get the irrational
number e = 2.718281828 . . Which is the basis of so many functions
from compound interest to radioactive decay to population growth.
So there you have it - the two most famous irrational numbers (p and
e) joined together by the common bond of March 14th. So, have a happy
PI day!
On Tuesday, March 14 (or as it is written in Europe, 3.14), we
observe Pi Day at 1:59 pm (3.14159).
That's right, today is National Pi day, that famous mathematical
ratio between the circumference and the diameter.
Now to further complicate things, today is also the seventy-third
(73rd ) day of the year.
Dividing the 365 days of the year by 73 yields a quotient of five.
Well, the fifth letter of the alphabet happens to be "e" and the
most famous mathematician whose name begins with e is of course,
Albert Einstein - well, guess what . . . Today (pi day) happens to be
Einstein's birthday!
And, as an extra added attraction, the second most famous "e"
mathematician is Leonhard Euler from whom we get the irrational
number e = 2.718281828 . . Which is the basis of so many functions
from compound interest to radioactive decay to population growth.
So there you have it - the two most famous irrational numbers (p and
e) joined together by the common bond of March 14th. So, have a happy
PI day!