Sponsored Links:
London - Japanese IT expert Shigeru Kondo has successfully calculated the ten trillionth digit of Pi.
It is considered by many to be the most important number in the world.
Essential to finding the circumference of a circle, Pi, valued at 3.14159265, is engrained in the mind of every schoolchild.
But one pair of scientists have taken their obsession a step further and calculated the ten trillionth digit, doubling the record set two years ago by a super-computer.
Many mathematicians try to round it down to 3.14, but Japanese IT expert Shigeru Kondo and US student Alexander Yee have spent just over a year ballooning it in size.
Using a home PC that sent Kondo’s house temperature shooting up to 40ºC, they also lost half a year as their computer failed to cope with the calculations.
“We could dry the laundry immediately, but we had to pay 30 000 yen (R3 190) a month for electricity,” Kondo’s wife said.
It was Yee who wrote the complex programme to calculate the huge number, while Kondo built the PC, adding at least 10 hard drives to make sure it could cope.
Within weeks of starting on October 16 last year, the system had failed and they had to start again. Then the Kondos’ Japanese home was hit by the giant earthquake that shook his country, but luckily it was neither damaged nor hit with a power cut.
Then further hardware failures and other problems slowed the project before they completed their task on August 26.
Once they had checked the digits were correct, they were able to confirm that the final number was 5.
“Over the course of the computation there were multiple hard drive failures, each of which required us to roll the computation back to a previous checkpoint. The result was approximately 180 days of lost time,” Kondo said. – Daily Mail
Hungry for more scitech news? Sign up for our daily newsletter
|
|
Anonymous, wrote
Right! this may be exciting for mathematicians (and I do love them). But now how does this help us or the universe move forward or solve our many challenges in the world today? Please help us learn something valuable here.
vusi, wrote
they could have asked me, I'm sure the hundred trillion digit of PI is 7, feel free to second guess.
Rory, wrote
Pi Doesn't change; it's a constant. Solar flares etc don't change pi, to think that is fantasy. Don't be so hard on the guy, he put alot of effort into working this out. If he was forced to "save the planet" who is to say he would out a fraction of the energy in.
Barry M, wrote
JR, wrote
What a waste of human and electrical resources. By the time you have caluclated Pi to even 10 decimal points the circumference has actual changed due to the movement of gravity, solar flares, expenasion of the univers or some other effect that changes matter. So stop wasting everyone's time and work on something like how to save our planet.
Jeremy Acton, wrote
The coincidence that a circle whose radius is known cannot ever have its circumference known in the space of this universe is absolutely mind boggling. Some cultures believe that a circle is the 'signature' of whatever created the Universe. Some also suggest that "God is a circle whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere." Well done to the researchers. I'll just stay with my ruler and compass, and call it 227.
Anonymous, wrote
Anonymous, wrote
I just calculate the ten trillionth and one digit and ten trillionth and two digit of Pi. They are 42! Feel free to check my results.
john, wrote
Free Speech, wrote
tony, wrote
I am sure malema would be interested in this story, I do believe his favourite pudding after his nandos meal is "pie"
zeenat, wrote
Showing items 1 - 12 of 12
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Buying a car has never been easy. Motoring.co.za contains a large database of car listings with a user friendly search.
Start searching today »
You are here: IOL / SciTech / Technology / Hardware / Eureka! I’ve found it
We like to make your life easier
Mobile
Browse IOL on your phone at m.iol.co.za.
Newsletters
Subscribe to our newsletters. News delivered to your inbox!
Comment Guidelines