Where was the pi invented and who invented it?

Answer 1

Pi is a mathematic constant that was moreso "discovered" than it was "invented."

Pi before π

As early as Babylonian times, people have been aware that the circumference of a circle (the distance around) was a little over 3 times its diameter (the distance across). Ancient calculations of π were within 1% of its value as we know it today. Some of the most notable:

1. Babylon - 25/8, which made calculations within 0.5% of their actual measurement
2. Egypt - 256/81 (3.160), the oldest written text referencing what we would someday call 'pi'
3. India - 339/108,

Archimedes is credited as the first to try evaluating pi in depth by inscribing circles in a series of polygons and arriving at an average value for π of 3.14185.

Evaluating π In-Depth

Mathematicians have tried to prove and refine the value for pi over the following centuries. In 1400, Madhava of Sangamagrama was able to acurately estimate pi to 11 places. In 1424 Persian Jamshīd al-Kāshī estimated it to 16 places. Over the years, numerous others, including Sir Isaac newton, have contributed to the development of pi.

π as We Know It

In 1706, William Jones named the constant pi/π after an abbreviation for the Greek "Perimeter," and in 1882 von Lindemann finally proved π was a transcendental number (meaning without end).