Solving STEM Equations: It's Easy as Pi

It’s March 14th—AKA Pi Day! Many of us fondly remember celebrating this occasion in the math classroom with aptly named sugary treats. The day holds much more significance than an excuse to eat dessert during math class, however, as its numerical date symbolizes the highly significant irrational figure used across all different areas of STEM. Mathematics, engineering, and computer science, all heavily rely on Pi in order to solve equations and uncover important data.

According to Nicholas Parker of nypl.org, “π is an incredibly special number with a lot of interesting properties, and it pops up in many, many formulas that dictate how our universe works and explain some of the deepest relations in mathematics.” The use of Pi in math is never ending, much like the number itself, popping up in various equations in order to help us narrow down the specifics of our world, providing a constant to the ever-elusive circle.

But of course, the use of Pi goes beyond existential algorithms, providing benefit to more commonplace jobs. An article by honeywell.com shows how three simple tasks would be impossible for engineers to complete without the use of Pi:

Communication with satellites would be impossible without trigonometry, a math that frequently uses Pi in its equations. Especially on planes, where “hardware includes an antenna that must point toward the selected satellite that it wants to communicate with.” Without knowing that exact angle through trigonometry, engineers would be unable to create a functioning antenna.

Electric motors also need pi to function. “Actuators control the flaps that move on aircraft wings and tails or the parts that open and close valves on jet engines. Controllers send signals to electric motors, telling them how fast they need to spin to make the actuators move… That requires the controller to put out a frequency in sync with the motor speed. To get the speed (RPM) that answer is divided by 2 π along with other factors… Pi helps a controller drive a motor to move an actuator.”

Even measuring a roll of paper needs Pi in order to be done properly. “[T]he paper capacity of barcode printers affects the size of paper rolls used. These printers, used in hospitals, warehouses, power plants, and more, use a wide variety of printable materials, such as paper and polyester, each requiring a different roll length… Pi is used in a formula that finds a material’s maximum roll length for these printers.” Without the use of Pi, engineers would be lost in their work.

William Jackson of gcn.com also states how computer science has been advanced by Pi. “One of the landmarks in calculating Pi was a 1962 paper by Daniel Shanks and John W. Wrench Jr. in the Mathematics of Computation. In 1949, it took the early ENIAC computer 70 hours to figure 2,037 digits of Pi… The authors predicted that it would be another five to seven years before computers had the capacity to figure the value to 1 million places. In 1989, an IBM 3090 was able to take it to 1 billion places, which was pushed to 200 billion by 1999 and to 1.24 trillion places in 2005.”

The power of Pi mixes with the expanses of human ingenuity to create a circular effect, building off of each other to advance both aspects and excel in progress. Without Pi, the modern world of today would not exist.

Capitol Tech offers many opportunities in all STEM fields, where you can pursue careers that employ the use of Pi and improve our world. To learn more about these programs, visit captechu.edu and peruse the various courses and degrees offered. Many courses are available both on campus and online. For more information, contact admissions@captechu.edu.