It’s that time of the year when we celebrate one of math’s most famous constants—Pi (π). We celebrate Pi Day on March 14 because the date—3/14—matches the first three digits of the number π. Pi Day is also recognized as the International Day of Mathematics by UNESCO. Interestingly, scientist Albert Einstein’s birthday also falls on March 14.
So, what is Pi?
Pi is a mathematical constant represented by the Greek letter π, defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. It is an irrational and transcendental number, which means its digits go on forever without any pattern or repetition. 62.8 trillion digits of Pi have been calculated in engineering; 22/7 is widely used as an approximation for Pi.
Why is this number so special, and how is it used in the water sector?
In engineering, Pi is involved in everything from circles to designing pipes, roads, airplanes, communications, and space exploration. The number crops up everywhere, even in the natural world—in rivers, waves, ripples, pupils of the eye, and our very own DNA. Pi appears everywhere. Pi even finds its way into the things commonly used daily—like your car tires or that cup holding your coffee. Here are some examples of how we use Pi in the Water/Wastewater sector:
- Pi is used to calculate the cross-sectional area of circular pipes using the formula πr2, where r is the radius of the pipe. The cross-sectional area is then used to determine the amount of water that can flow through the pipe using the formula πr2V, where V is the velocity of water.
- Pi plays a major role in calculating the best size of pipes required to deliver water to people’s houses.
- Pi is used to calculate the volume of circular storage tanks that store water and chemicals and other circular process tanks such as sludge holding tanks and clarifiers. The volume of a tank is calculated using the formula πr2h, where h is the height of the tank.
- Pi is also leveraged in the formula used to calculate the amount of water that can be withdrawn from a groundwater well.
- Wastewater treatment plants have odor control equipment to mitigate the odor issues associated with wastewater. When designing odor control equipment, Pi is used in the formula that calculates how odor disperses in the atmosphere during various weather conditions.
Being such a widely used number in the day-to-day activities of humans, one cannot imagine life without the number Pi! It’s no wonder we have a day honoring this versatile number.
Coming to the fun part, how do we celebrate Pi Day?
Pi Day is celebrated worldwide with pie-eating contests, π recitation contests, and even eating round pizzas. At Mead & Hunt, some of our offices celebrate with a pie tasting extravaganza, including fruit pies, pizza pies, meat pies and more!
So, what are you waiting for—grab a pie and celebrate with us in honor of math’s most famous constant—Pi (π).
