When you say "define the value of pi" , what you mean to say is "determine the value of pi".
You define the definition of pi by stating what it represents. You determine a value for pi based on measurements and calculations. You can not define a value for pi as no exact value exists. Brig's problem is he is trying to define an exact value to pi and is caught in a quagmire. If he understood the concept of what pi really defines, he would not be wasting his time. Euric ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Hooper" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, 2004-04-17 13:25 Subject: [USMA:29567] Re: Pi & Radian > > On 2004 Apr 17 , at 12:04 AM, Brij Bhushan Vij wrote: > > > provided ... Pi are DEFINED'. > > > > This can be done by a glance at my worked values for Pi used by man, > > Refer: > > http://the-light.com/bbv_pi-radian.jpg > > One can DETERMINE pi, but one cannot DEFINE pi in the sense that SI > defines the metre and the second etc. Pi is a given factor of the > universe we live in. It is the value that it is; we don't have the > ability to "define" it to be any other value. It can be determined to > any number of decimal places (but it takes a LONG time to get those > very small decimal places). Pi is exact to an infinite number of > decimal places but we can never calculate all of them because it would > take an infinite amount of time to calculate an infinite number of > decimal places. (Also, no one could use the results because it would > take an infinite amount of time to use a number with an infinite number > of decimal places.) > > You can say "Pi is defined as the ratio of the circumference to the > diameter of a circle" but that does not define the value of pi as it > merely tells how to go about measuring it. There are mathematical > relations between the geometry of a circle and other known, fixed > constants which provide methods by which purely calculated values of pi > can be found, rather than finding it by dividing two measured values > (circumference and diameter). Those purely calculated values give > values which can be more precise than any possible measurement. > > By the way, Brij, I tried to refer to the web page mentioned in the > last line of your message and I received the error message: > > File Not Found > > The requested URL was not found on this server. > > Regards, > Bill Hooper > Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA > <><><><><><><><><><><><> > Make it simple; Make it Metric > <><><><><><><><><><><><> > >
