Editing 2586: Greek Letters
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
| Latest revision | Your text | ||
| Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
===Greek letters=== | ===Greek letters=== | ||
| − | * '''π (lowercase pi): This math is either very simple or impossible.''' — Typically used to refer to the constant ratio between a circle’s circumference and its diameter (approximately 3.14). In a common school curriculum, this constant first shows up in introductory geometry classes, which would be considered "simple" by advanced mathematicians. But often, pi can show up seemingly randomly in advanced equations that have nothing to do with a circle at first glance, such as in infinite series. And because pi is transcendental, it can sometimes be difficult to work with pi in those situations | + | * '''π (lowercase pi): This math is either very simple or impossible.''' — Typically used to refer to the constant ratio between a circle’s circumference and its diameter (approximately 3.14). In a common school curriculum, this constant first shows up in introductory geometry classes, which would be considered "simple" by advanced mathematicians. But often, pi can show up seemingly randomly in advanced equations that have nothing to do with a circle at first glance, such as in infinite series. And because pi is transcendental, it can sometimes be difficult to work with pi in those situations. |
** An alternate explanation is that the comic refers to how the symbol can sometimes be used as a variable where the 'p' sound might make sense, such as in the prime-counting function where it stands for "prime" or the Buckingham π theorem where it stands for "parameter." These uses can be confusing to students who have only ever seen a lowercase pi used for the circle constant. This has pushed college courses to use it less and less frequently for anything other than the circle constant so that now you are only likely to see π as something else in higher math. (More confusing still is the variant lowercase pi, so-called omega pi {{w|Pi (letter)#Variant pi|ϖ}} sometimes used for angular frequency instead of the more common (and very similar-looking) lowercase omega ω. In astronomy, ϖ is traditionally used to denote the {{w|Longitude of the periapsis|longitude of perihelion}}.) | ** An alternate explanation is that the comic refers to how the symbol can sometimes be used as a variable where the 'p' sound might make sense, such as in the prime-counting function where it stands for "prime" or the Buckingham π theorem where it stands for "parameter." These uses can be confusing to students who have only ever seen a lowercase pi used for the circle constant. This has pushed college courses to use it less and less frequently for anything other than the circle constant so that now you are only likely to see π as something else in higher math. (More confusing still is the variant lowercase pi, so-called omega pi {{w|Pi (letter)#Variant pi|ϖ}} sometimes used for angular frequency instead of the more common (and very similar-looking) lowercase omega ω. In astronomy, ϖ is traditionally used to denote the {{w|Longitude of the periapsis|longitude of perihelion}}.) | ||
** In a field of math known as {{w|algebraic topology|algebraic topology}}, it is standard to use π to denote the {{w|homotopy group}}s. Despite decades of study, the {{w|homotopy groups of spheres}} in high dimensions are unknown. | ** In a field of math known as {{w|algebraic topology|algebraic topology}}, it is standard to use π to denote the {{w|homotopy group}}s. Despite decades of study, the {{w|homotopy groups of spheres}} in high dimensions are unknown. | ||
