A Swiss university has set a new world record for calculating the mathematical constant pi to 62.8 trillion decimal places.
To reach this record a supercomputer worked solidly for 108 days and nine hours, according to the team from The University of Applied Sciences in Graubünden.
Pi is the constant that you multiply a circle’s diameter by to find its circumference. It’s a ratio describing the proportions of every circle, and has many useful applications in mathematics.
Most people know it as simply 3.1415, but it is really an irrational number; one that has an infinite number of digits following its decimal point. In effect, it gets longer the more that you calculate it.
The university in east Switzerland has worked out the most-accurate version of the legendary number to date.
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The previous record was set in 2020, when a researcher calculated pi to 50 trillion decimal places. The team from Graubünden have optimised the process, reaching their record almost twice as fast as Google’s attempt in 2019, and 3.5 times as fast as the record set in 2020.
They are awaiting certification from the Guinness Book of World Records before releasing the figure, but said the last ten digits of the evolved legendary number were “7817924264.”
The Swiss team said that the experience they had gained while calculating pi could have applications in fields such as “RNA analysis, simulations of fluid dynamics and textual analysis”.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: The pi symbol made of pi symbols. Featured Photo Credit: Max Pixel.
