People around the world celebrate Pi Day every 3.14?that?s March 14 to the mathematically disinclined. Pi, a mathematical constant, represents the ratio of a circle?s circumference to its diameter.
Today, the Sanford Underground Research Facility, in partnership with the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center and the Lead Deadwood Arts Center, is hosting the first Lead Pi Day at the Visitor Center, 160 W. Main. The event features pies, pizza pies, and a pi discussion/activity. The social hour begins at 5 p.m.; the presentation is at 6 p.m.
Pi is a constant number, meaning that no matter the size of the circle, pi stays the same. Pi has been calculated to more than 1 trillion digits beyond the decimal point, and some people have taken it upon themselves to learn as many digits as possible. According to The Guardian, Japanese memory master Akira Haraguchi once recited 100,000 digits of pi in public?it took more than 16 hours.
Haraguchi?s technique relies on assigning symbols to numbers, turning pi?s random sequence of digits into stories?mostly, he says, about animals and plants. ?To me, reciting pi?s digits has the same meaning as chanting the Buddhist mantra and meditating,? he said.
Really, only a handful of digits are needed for typical calculations; for example, 3.14159. But you don?t have to understand math to have fun at Pi Day. Dr. Dan May, assistant professor of mathematics at BHSU, will lead two activities around pi that let participants actively investigate the meaning of pi.
?One will allow folks to see for themselves the physical property that defines pi,? May said. ?The other will give them an opportunity to think creatively about geometric ways to decide what the value of pi is.?
May?s research interests include the connections between poetry and discrete mathematics and combinatorics, or combinations of things.
An added feature of Lead?s Pi Day, is an art contest in which area students can create a birthday card for Albert Einstein, who was born on March 14, 1879. Einstein, a theoretical physicist, developed the general theory of relativity. Cards can be dropped off at the Visitor Center on 3.14 by 1:59 p.m. For more information on the art contest, go to leaddeadwoodartscenter.com.
Pi Day is free to the public; donations to support education events at the Visitor Center are welcome. The Lead library will sell a variety of pies as a fundraiser for the Library. Pizza Lab will supply free Dark Matter and Neutrino pizza pies.