"Zazzle.com Pi Stamp
The mathematical symbol for pi

If you haven't looked at your calendar yet, today is Pi Day. This is the day in which the month and day of the calendar is 3/14, the first three digits to the mathematical formula for pi (3.14...).

Before I go any further, I want to ask you a puzzle that relates to pi.

Suppose you could put a steel band tightly around the equator of Earth. Assume, for the sake of this puzzle, that the earth is perfectly round, without hills or valleys, and that the steel band would make a exact circle around Earth where it is touching the surface evenly. Then, you take a cutting torch, open up a gap in this band, and weld in exactly 1 extra meter (for non-metric readers, approximately 1 yard) of metal.

Question -- how high would this extra meter of material allow the band to be raised, evenly, throughout the entire circumference of the earth. If you haven't heard this question before, the answer, provided below, will likely amaze you.

I have searched through various websites trying to find stamps that portray the symbol for pi, but have came up virtually empty-handed. I have yet to find a postage stamp, issued by a postal authority, with such an image.

I did find several representations of pi on stamps designed by Zazzle.com. For readers who have never heard of Zazzle, the company markets metered stamps with custom images that are valid for postage in several countries. Technically the stamps are metered stamps -- the barcoding on the stamp is what identifies the stamp as valid postage for the United States Postal Service -- the picture is just an add-on. Customers can provide their own images for the pictorial image on the stamp or purchase them with pre-made images.

Zazzle makes up various designs and sells them. They have several images with pi on them, including the two represented here.


Zazzle.com Pi Stamp
Pi to 80 decimal places

Are there any pi stamps issued by postal agencies and not companies like Zazzle? Maybe readers can provide another example, but a quick search through websites dedicated to stamps featuring mathematical-related terms failed to turn up an example.


Now, back to the puzzle. The steel band would be raised approximately 1/6th of a meter (approximately 6 inches for non-metric readers) above the surface of the earth! And even more amazingly, it doesn't matter what the diameter of the round surface is -- from something as small as a pea or as large as the sun -- the result is the same -- the band will be raised about 1/6th of a meter larger than the object in all cases.

For those who might doubt this, here is how the solution is determined. My apologies to mathematicians everywhere!

The circumference of an item is equal to the diameter of the object multiplied by pi. When you add one meter of material to the steel band, you are adding 1 meter to the circumference. Since pi is approximately 3, then the one meter of extra circumference increases the diameter of the circle by about 1/3 meter -- 1/3 meter in diameter * pi (approx. 3) yields approximately 1 meter in circumference. So by adding 1 meter to the steel band, we are, in effect, increasing the diameter of the band by 1/3 meter. This yields a radius increase of 1/6th meter (diameter = 2 times the radius). Thus approximately 1/6th of a meter is how much the steel band is raised from surface at any one spot.

For those who prefer their numbers more precise, divide the 1 meter by an approximation of pi (3.141592...) and you get 0.318309... of a meter for the increase in diameter, which yields 0.159159... of a meter increase in the radius.


Happy Pi Day!




Bookmark and Share
(C)opyright 2011, Tony Servies

Excerpts may be freely used (non-commercially) as long as credited to "Stamps of Distinction" blog (http://www.stampsofdistinction.com)
All other use requires the written permission of the owner.
"

"
The Mathematics of Caring
In case you missed it, since the first three digits of the mathematical constant pi are 3.14, March 14th is now celebrated as Pi Day. So for this catalog we have some good pie recipes. One of the great things about cooking is the way it works to pass on a better future. These days when it comes to climate change and so many other areas, there is no bigger obstacle to passing on that better future than the organized effort to create doubt about the science and math needed for good policy making. So we thought it might be both fun and fitting to seek out stories and pie recipes from people of science and math who have the information we actually need. My hope is to make this an annual event. I think we are off to a good start.
"

"Subj: We need your help

The Pi Day of the century, 3.14/15 is only a little over a week away. For a time now Pi Day has been all about fun and of course pie, but with the way in recent years, science and even reality itself have come more and more under attack, I’m thinking maybe this year it’s time for Pi Day to emerge as something more than just fun.
For so much of our history, the people of our country and the world have benefited greatly from the science-based reality that has shaped America’s future. Science may be based on numbers, but science's actual value is in its humanity. It's beyond doubt that through science and the honest representation of reality our lives have become safer, healthier and happier.
Yet today the very science that has done so much to reduce suffering in our lives is now under attack. From the climate, to vaccines, to Wisconsin's own Governor Walker’s belief that there are more votes in denying evolution than there are in embracing it, clearly somewhere something has gone very wrong. There is more than enough blame to go all around for how we got here, but maybe this is one of those times that where we are is not nearly as important as where we need to be.
Maybe rather than a debate of our differences, what we need is a celebration of what we share. At Penzeys we think Pi Day could grow into just the holiday we need. There really is no time to lose to get on to celebrating the truth of science-based reality and the math behind it. And there is also no time better than now to get back to celebrating the kindness, compassion and the nurturing nature of our shared humanity that has always been behind the very best that science has brought to our lives.
In Pi, the number is all the value and beauty and wonder that is at the heart of the reality science holds. In the gift of a good slice of pie, the desert is all the kindness and compassion that our shared humanity encompasses. Pi Day really is ready to become so much more. And could there be a better day to relaunch Pi Day as the holiday we truly need than 3.14/15; the Pi Day of the Century?
So we are reaching out to our customers for help. We need your stories and a recipe or two. We already have good stories in the works for living with climate change, the value of vaccines, evolution, and the psychology/brain chemistry of why as humans we are so resistant to seeing the certainty of climate change.
Where we still really need your help is in finding an economist or two to speak to why our deficit spending has left our economy and our humanity in so much better shape than what Europe is facing today. And we could also use one more person with the knowledge to speak to the monetary cost and the human cost of sending to prison people who simply need treatment instead.
For recipes we are flexible. Pies are great but not necessary. Maybe you have another baked good you like to share. Or possibly you have a way you like to make some other circular item: a sliced carrot recipe, scallops are always popular, or even a beet salad that's an old family tradition would do the trick. We really are flexible.
The important thing is if you have the science, or the numbers, or the knowledge that is needed for good policy making in the fields of economics or restorative justice please actually contact us. Don't wait for someone else to do it. Just email a phone number where we can reach you and I will have one of our friendly writers give you a call.
It's time to get off the sidelines. We can't let science and all the goodness it can bring to our lives be a victim of our cultural wars. I don't mean to be overly dramatic, but the future really is at stake here. With your help 3.14/15 could be the turning point the world so very much needs.
We realize we are looking for a needle in a haystack here, and on short notice. If you know someone who fits what we are looking for, please forward this email to them, or better yet, give them a call.
Thanks,
Bill Penzey "

"Pi rrrrrr squared."

"Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. In other words, multiply Pi by the diameter (distance across the middle) to find the circumference (distance around the outside) of the circle. Pi is also use to calculate the area of a circle with the familiar Pi x r squared. Pi is often approximated as 3.14 for simple calculations, but Pi is actually an indeterminate number that begins 3.14159265359, so 3-14-15 at 9:26 is a once in a lifetime Pi moment. 3-14 will always be Pi day EVERY year, but this one is special. "

"3-14-15 at 9:26 is a once in a lifetime Pi moment. 3-14 will always be Pi day EVERY year, but this one is special. "
"

"Technically, the "pure" once in a lifetime pi day would be March 14, 1592 at 6:53:59 hours."