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Measuring Pi — Archimedes' Method of Squeezing a Circle Between Polygons
Mark

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Mark

2. липень 2026FI
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Measuring Pi — Archimedes' Method of Squeezing a Circle Between Polygons

Pi is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter — the same number for every circle. You can measure it roughly with a string, but around 250 BC Archimedes found it exactly, with no measuring at all. He trapped a circle between a polygon drawn just inside it and one just outside, then doubled the sides again and again until the two polygons closed in on the circle from both directions. With 96-sided polygons he proved pi lies between 3+10/71 and 3+1/7. This blueprint walks through both the string measurement and Archimedes' rigorous squeeze.
Середній
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Інструкції

1

Understand what pi is

Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference (the distance around) to its diameter (the distance across). It is the same for every circle, large or small. Its value begins 3.14159… and never ends or repeats.
2

Measure pi with a string

Wrap a cord snugly around a round object and mark its circumference, then measure straight across for the diameter. Divide circumference by diameter — you will get about 3.14. Try several sizes; the ratio stays the same every time.

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Cotton Kitchen StringCotton Kitchen String
3

See the limit of measuring

A cord and ruler give only two or three good digits — small measuring errors spoil the rest. To pin pi down exactly you need geometry, not string. This is the leap Archimedes made.
4

Trap the circle between two polygons

Draw a circle, then a regular polygon just inside touching it and another just outside enclosing it. The circle's circumference must lie between the two polygon perimeters — smaller than the outer, larger than the inner.

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Red Alder BoardRed Alder Board
Chalk LineChalk Line
5

Start with hexagons

Begin with six-sided polygons — the easiest to draw, since a hexagon's side equals the circle's radius. Their perimeters already bracket pi between 3 and about 3.46. Good, but still loose.
6

Keep doubling the sides

Double the sides: 6 to 12 to 24 to 48 to 96. Each doubling makes both polygons hug the circle more closely, so the inner and outer perimeters squeeze together and the gap that must contain pi shrinks.
7

Reach Archimedes' bounds

At 96 sides Archimedes proved pi is greater than 3+10/71 (about 3.1408) and less than 3+1/7 (about 3.1429). The true value 3.14159… sits right in that gap — found by pure reasoning, with no ruler touching the circle.
8

Go as far as you like

The doubling never stops: more sides give more digits of pi, as many as your patience allows. Archimedes' squeeze was the best method known for almost two thousand years, until calculus offered faster ones.

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You can swap these in

Can't get one of the materials? Swap it for an equivalent — these work just as well.

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