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PI Pi or {PI} is one of the most important mathematical constants, approximately equal to 3.14159. It represents the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter in Euclidean geometry, which is the same as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius. Many formulas from mathematics, science, and engineering include {PI}. It is an irrational number, which means that its decimal expansion never ends or repeats. Indeed: beyond being irrational, it is a transcendental number, which means that no finite sequence of algebraic operations on integers (powers, roots, sums, etc.) could ever produce it. Throughout the history of mathematics, much effort has been made to determine {PI} more accurately and understand its nature; fascination with the number has even carried over into culture at large. The Greek letter {PI}, often spelled out pi in text, was adopted for the number from the Greek word for perimeter "{PI}", probably by William Jones in 1706, and popularized by Leonhard Euler some years later. "{PI}" is usually pronounced as pie when used in English in a mathematical context, although the letter is properly pronounced pee in Greek. The constant is occasionally also referred to as the circular constant, Archimedes' constant (not to be confused with an Archimedes number), or Ludolph's number. FUNDAMENTALS The name of the Greek letter {PI} is pi, and this spelling is used in typographical contexts where the Greek letter is not available or where its usage could be problematic. When referring to this constant, the symbol {PI} is always pronounced like "pie" in English, the conventional English pronunciation of the letter. In Greek, the name of this letter is pronounced slightly differently. The constant is named "{PI}" because "{PI}" is the first letter of the Greek words {PI}(periphery) and {PI}(perimeter), probably referring to its use in the formula to find the circumference, or perimeter, of a circle.[1] {PI} is Unicode character U+03C0 ("Greek small letter pi"). HISTORY The history of {PI} parallels the development of mathematics as a whole. Some authors divide progress into three periods: the ancient period during which {PI} was studied geometrically, the classical era following the development of calculus in Europe around the 17th century, and the age of digital computers. SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi