April 2003
Intermediate to advanced
576 pages
15h 13m
English
The transcendental number π can be computed using many techniques. One method, which we do not hold up as the best, has its basis in the recognition that the area of a circle of radius a is πa2 while the area of a square just large enough to enclose the circle is 4a2 (see Figure 8-3). The ratio of the area of the circle to the area of the square is πa2/4a2 or π/4. If we could separately measure the areas of the circle and the square, we could estimate π to be 4 times the ratio of the area of the circle to the area of the square.

Consider a ...