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A mathematical constant is a key number whose value is fixed by an unambiguous definition, often referred to by a symbol (e.g., an alphabet letter), or by mathematicians' names to facilitate using it across multiple mathematical problems. [1]
unstrict inequality signs (less-than or equals to sign and greater-than or equals to sign) 1670 (with the horizontal bar over the inequality sign, rather than below it) John Wallis: 1734 (with double horizontal bar below the inequality sign) Pierre Bouguer
For example, 1.5 × 10 6 means that the true value of something being measured is 1,500,000 to the nearest hundred thousand (so the actual value is somewhere between 1,450,000 and 1,550,000); this is in contrast to the notation 1.500 × 10 6, which means that the true value is 1,500,000 to the nearest thousand (implying that the true value is ...
Some Egyptologists [3] have claimed that the ancient Egyptians used an approximation of π as 22 ⁄ 7 = 3.142857 (about 0.04% too high) from as early as the Old Kingdom (c. 2700–2200 BC). [4] This claim has been met with skepticism.
[1] The approximation can be proven several ways, and is closely related to the binomial theorem . By Bernoulli's inequality , the left-hand side of the approximation is greater than or equal to the right-hand side whenever x > − 1 {\displaystyle x>-1} and α ≥ 1 {\displaystyle \alpha \geq 1} .
The following iterates are 1.0103, 1.00093, 1.0000082, and 1.00000000065, illustrating quadratic convergence. This highlights that quadratic convergence of a Newton iteration does not mean that only few iterates are required; this only applies once the sequence of iterates is sufficiently close to the root.
The quantity 206 265 ″ is approximately equal to the number of arcseconds in a circle (1 296 000 ″), divided by 2π, or, the number of arcseconds in 1 radian. The exact formula is = (″) and the above approximation follows when tan X is replaced by X.
Best rational approximants for π (green circle), e (blue diamond), ϕ (pink oblong), (√3)/2 (grey hexagon), 1/√2 (red octagon) and 1/√3 (orange triangle) calculated from their continued fraction expansions, plotted as slopes y/x with errors from their true values (black dashes)