The Power of Pi : The Beauty and Obsession Behind the World's Favorite Number

A delightfully engaging, fact-filled account of the irrational number that has inspired revolutionary changes in mathematical thinkingMore than two thousand years ago, the Greek mathematician Archimedes showed how a single number—we now call it pi—transformed geometry. Since then, pi has revealed itself as a universal constant, turning up in unexpected places like Fibonacci numbers, the design of walled cities, and chaos theory. The Power of Pi ventures across centuries and continents with this singular number, exploring how it has stormed the mathematical world and inspired us to think deeply. Marc Chamberland takes you behind the scenes, where pi travels the cosmos to answer questions about exoplanets. He discusses how understanding pi’s algebraic structure settled mysteries posed centuries earlier by the ancient Greeks. You’ll learn about pi’s present-day role in experimental mathematics and computation and why using many digits of pi helps find new, exotic equations. Chamberland introduces colorful personalities and their stories behind new discoveries about pi, including students who proved their world-class professors wrong and the brothers who built their own supercomputer. Along the way, he serves up “Slices of Pi” that offer a fun look at the number’s starring role in pop culture—from movies and TV to the craze for memorizing and reciting the digits of pi—as well as simple experiments that readers can try themselves. Revealing how this mysterious constant extends far beyond the circle, The Power of Pi is an informative and entertaining tour of mathematics with the most beguiling irrational number as your guide.