2.4 The Archimedes Approach
The first technique we will consider, which is attributed to the mathematician Archimedes, makes use of a many-sided polygon to approximate the circumference of a circle. Recall that pi is related to the circumference of a circle, C, by the equation
where r is the radius of the circle. Given a circle of radius 1, sometimes called a unit circle, this equation can be rearranged as simply
The Archimedes approach, shown in FIGURE 2.2, uses the distance around a polygon that is inscribed within a unit circle. By using ...
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