Pi is the mathematical term for the number 3.141592654 and is probably the most talked-about number in mathematics. The computation of pi is virtually the only topic from the most ancient stratum of mathematics that is still of serious interest to modern mathematics research (Berggren 6). How can a problem as simple as dividing a circle's circumference by its diameter, intrigue mathematicians for over four thousand years? The symbol, its history, and applications in today's world all help us to have a better understanding of the area of a circle.
             The Rhind Papyrus, which dates back to 1650 BC, is the earliest form of the pi ratio. Written by an Egyptian scribe named Ahmes, his findings put him approximately one percent away from finding the true value of pi (Blatner, 8). The formula written on the Rhind Papyrus is also the first example of someone attempting to square a circle. The Babylonians and Hebrews simply used the value three for the ratio between circumference and diameter, which to our standards isn¡t even close. History is filled with close calls, Archimedes, for instance, came within three ten-thousandths from the true value of pi. Still more amazing he did it without the benefit of a symbol for zero or any knowledge of decimal notation. It wasn¡t for another 650 years that someone came closer than Archimedes. In the year 263, a Chinese astronomer Tsu Ch¡ung-chih and his son, Tsu Keng-chih. Using an inscribed polygon with as many as 24,576 sides found pi to be approximately 3.14159265¡K only 8-millionths of one percent different from the accepted value of 3.14159264¡K(Blatner, 25). An amateur mathematician named Francois Viete did not find the true notation of pi, until after the Middle Ages. Using Archimedes method he determined that pi was greater than 3.1415926535 and less than 3.1415926537. His measurement, accurate to ten decimal places, was the most precise in the history of pi (Doctor Math, 2000). ...