Celebrate 25 mathelicious years of Pi Day

PiDay.org

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

The most famous irrational number, pi, is being factored into a whole smorgasbord of silliness on 3/14.

On one level, the date is just an excuse for high geekery, ranging from eating mathematically meaningful pies to marching in a circular pi procession. On a deeper level ... well, who needs an excuse to celebrate one of nature's most mysterious numbers?

In differently curved universes, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter might be something other than 3.14159 and some change. But in our universe, the digits that describe that ratio have never come to an end or shown a repeating pattern, even though pi's value has been computed to a length of 10 trillion digits. The irrationality of pi has popped up as a theme in a goodly number of books and movies through the years, including "Contact" (the book) and "Pi" (the movie). Pi's continuing hold on our imagination is definitely something worth celebrating.

Here are a few ways to mark the day:

• Celebrate the 25th-anniversary Pi Day with the Exploratorium in San Francisco, where the festivities reach their peak at 3/14, 1:59 p.m. PT. The Exploratorium in San Francisco is where it all began in 1988, when physicist Larry Shaw organized the first public celebration of Pi Day. There'll also be a Pi Day party?on Exploratorium Island in the Second Life virtual world, starting at 8 p.m. PT / SLT.
• Send a Pi Day e-card. The Web site for Pi Day offers discussions and videos about pi, books and merchandise to buy, suggested activities and information about the why of pi.
• Look around for local events, such as Pi Day Princeton or the Maryland Science Center's Pi Day party. Chances are that your local science center is doing something to celebrate the day ... and if not, maybe you can convince the ticket-takers to reduce the cost of admission to $3.14, just this once.
• Celebrate Albert Einstein's birthday, which also falls on March 14. Our "Century of Einstein" special report is just as insightful today as it was when we published it in 2005 to mark the centennial of the great physicist's "miracle year."
• Make your plans for Tau Day, the holiday for people who think pi is pass?. Tau is twice the value of pi, and some mathematicians say that makes their equations easier to juggle. If you're a tau touter, June 28 (6/28) is your special day. And if you don't follow the American style of stating dates, you might be more comfortable celebrating pi on July 22 (22/7), a date that evokes a fraction close to the irrational value of pi.

"Pi Day, Pi Day" ... get down with a spoof video from 2011.

Anything to add? If you have other ways to celebrate Pi Day, let us know in your comment below.

More pi peculiarity:

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Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.

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This story was originally published on Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:50 PM EDT

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/14/10675138-celebrate-25-years-of-pi-day?lite

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Saudi executes seven for armed robbery committed as juveniles

By Elena Gyldenkerne BARCELONA, March 11 (Reuters) - AC Milan need only look to last season's Champions League last 16 tie against Arsenal to understand how tough it will be when they visit Barcelona, captain Massimo Ambrosini warned on Monday. Milan travel to the Nou Camp on Tuesday with a 2-0 advantage from last month's first leg, when they successfully outmaneuvered Lionel Messi and company at the San Siro. ...

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Five Favorite Films with Warwick Davis

One more, what's it gonna be? Ask me another question, 'cause something will pop up in the meantime.

It must be nice to know that 25 years later, a lot of people love Willow; it's become something of cult favorite.

I know, it is, it's nice. I feel very flattered knowing that people enjoy watching it, enjoy handing it down to their kids and their grand-kids, which is something I hear all the time. There's not a lot of films that people still talk about 25 years later.

Your first role, or course, was in Return of the Jedi, which it's fair to say a few people still talk about. Is there a place for Wicket in the new Star Wars films?

I don't know. I honestly don't think so. I mean, the Ewoks kicked the Stormtroopers' butts and I think that's their job done, you know. Unless the story somehow goes back to Endor, which I don't know -- I wouldn't think the story would pick up exactly where it left off. We're not all gonna be cuddling to begin the new adventure [laughs].

Well you'd made your peace with R2-D2 at the end of the Jedi, so there could be a standalone buddy movie in store.

[Laughs] That would be funny. A little buddy movie between R2 and Wicket. But I'd like to play a villain. Somebody who's really nasty, with a lightsaber. That would be ideal.

So you just want a lightsaber this time, that's what it comes down to.

[Laughs] Oh yeah. I never got to wield one of them, and I'm very experienced in waving things around, as far as wands go.

Alright, have you been inspired to come up with your fifth favorite film?

Okay, well now I've got one of two. Either The Muppets, the new movie, or a film called Monsters, which I really liked. I think I might put that one in. I loved the production design, which I gather [Gareth Edwards] did all himself, and the music by John Hopkins. I'm a huge fan of his music anyway, and his music is what introduced me to the film, which is weird. I look for anything that John's done, and discovered he'd done the music to this film Monsters. I loved the soundtrack and I thought, "I wonder what this film's like?" I loved the movie. I thought it was a terrific job.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1927009/news/1927009/

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Closest Earth-like world could be 6.5 light years away

Any aliens on the closest Earth-like world to us may just be finding out that Pluto is no longer a fully fledged planet. A new analysis suggests that the nearest potentially habitable world is just 6.5 to 7 light years away, which means it should now be receiving radio broadcasts from 2006.

Last month, Courtney Dressing and David Charbonneau of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced that the nearest neighbouring Earth-like planet is probably orbiting a small, cool red dwarf star about 13 light years away.

Dressing and Charbonneau sifted through data from the planet-hunting Kepler space telescope. Kepler looks for dips in starlight as planets pass in front of their host stars, as seen from Earth. The pair found 95 dim red dwarfs that host possible planets. That included three Earth-sized worlds in the habitable zone ? the region around a star in which temperatures would allow liquid water to exist.

The team then estimated how many red dwarfs should have a planet between 0.5 and 1.4 times the size of the Earth orbiting in the habitable zone. Their answer: about 15 per cent. Based on the distribution of red dwarfs in the Milky Way, that suggests a potentially habitable planet is only 13 light years away.

Getting warmer

But they used an old definition of the habitable zone, says Ravi Kopparapu of Penn State University in University Park. The zone's boundaries depend on the star's temperature and how well molecules in the planet's atmosphere absorb starlight to warm the surface. Those calculations have not been updated since 1993.

"I noticed that they were using old definitions of habitable zones, and so they did not count all the planets that should be in the habitable zone," says Kopparapu. In January, he and the lead author of the original 1993 paper updated the formulas for finding a star's habitable zone. They used newer information on how Earth's atmosphere responds to sunlight, and included new habitable zone boundaries for stars with different temperatures than the sun.

Now Kopparapu has reworked Dressing and Charbonneau's calculations to figure out how many possible Earth-like planets they missed. He found that about half of red dwarf stars should have Earth-sized planets within the habitable zone, and the average distance to one should be between 6.5 and 7 light years. "This is a good sign for detecting extraterrestrial life," he says.

Journal reference: arxiv.org/abs/1303.2649

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Kate Middleton Maternity Clothes: What's She Wearing?

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College notebook: Ross to call shots for Wittenberg defense

As a hard-hitting linebacker, Sean Ross was the leading tackler on the only football team from Waynesburg University to make the NCAA Division III playoffs.

This fall, Ross will be calling the defense for the winningest program in Division III.

Ross, a Bentworth graduate, has been named defensive coordinator for Wittenberg University. Ross has been on Wittenberg?s coaching staff since 2007 and was promoted to replace Andy Waddle, who left the Tigers to become head coach at Marietta.

?It was not a hard decision to make,? Wittenberg coach Joe Fincham told the Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun. ?Sean is a good leader. His guys play hard for him. They respect his work ethic.?

Ross, 31, had been Wittenberg?s linebackers coach and made the Tigers? group among the best, not only in the North Coast Athletic Conference, but all of Division III. In 2009, Wittenberg had three linebackers make the All-NCAC first team as the Tigers led the nation in defense.

?I?m very excited. It?s a great opportunity,? Ross said. ?I?m fortunate to be at a great school with a great program.?

Wittenberg has won more games than any program in Division III history. The Tigers have won five national championships, qualified for the Division III playoffs 15 times and had only one losing season since 1955. Wittenberg was 10-2 last season and advanced to the second round of the Division III playoffs.

A four-year letterman (2000-03) and a three-year starting linebacker at Waynesburg, Ross led the Yellow Jackets in tackles in 2003, when Waynesburg won the PAC championship and qualified for the national playoffs. Ross was a two-time all-conference selection. As a senior, he was team captain and team defensive MVP.

Ross started his coaching career at Waynesburg, then spent two years at Westminster before moving to Wittenberg.

In basketball

Point Park senior guard Emily Schartner of Finleyville has been named to the All-Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team. One of the best perimeter scoring threats in the league, Schartner was 11th in the conference in scoring at 12.3 points per game and was second in three-pointers made. A Ringgold graduate, Schartner has 61 three-pointers on the season and is four shy of the Point Park single-season record.

Schartner helped Point Park (25-6) win the KIAC tournament championship by scoring 11 points in the Pioneers? 67-58 victory over Asbury in the title game. Schartner made six of seven free throws against Asbury and is shooting 83 percent from the free-throw line on the season.

The conference title clinched an automatic berth for Point Park to the NAIA Division II national tournament that begins today in Sioux City, Iowa. The Pioneers will play third-ranked Indiana Wesleyan (30-3) in the first round Thursday night.

Millersville?s Eli Obade was rewarded for his record-setting season Tuesday when he was named the PSAC East Division Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-PSAC East first team.

A 6-9 senior from Charleroi, Obade set the Millersville single-season record with 72 blocked shots and led the PSAC in blocks, rebounds (11.2 per game) and double-doubles (13). He is currently fifth in NCAA Division II in rebounding.

Obade was Millersville?s third-leading scorer at 11.7 points per game and he shot 58 percent from the field for the Marauders (19-10). He is the first Millersville player since the 2007-08 season to be named first team All-PSAC East.

In track & field

Shawn Johnson, a three-time Class AAA champion at last year?s WPIAL Track & Field meet, won individual and team titles last weekend at the National Junior College Athletic Association Championships in Lubbock, Texas.

Johnson, a freshman at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, won the national championship in the high jump by clearing 6-10?. He was one of four competitors to clear the height but won based on fewer misses.

Johnson also finished fourth in the triple jump (48-11?) and was 11th in the long jump (21-11). His performance helped the South Plains men win the team title.

Hans Lubich, a junior at Slippery Rock, placed third in the heptathlon at the PSAC Indoor Championships held at Edinboro. A Jefferson-Morgan graduate and former WPIAL Class AA champion in the high jump, Lubich scored 4,603 points in the seven-event competition. Lubich had the fastest time in the first event, the 60-meter dash (7.02), was second in the long jump (21-3 7/8 ) and was fourth in both the shot put (35-5?) and 60-meter hurdles (8.96).

His performance earned Lubich All-Region status.

Lubich finished ninth last spring in the decathlon at the PSAC Championships with 5,837 points and was runner-up in the heptathlon in the indoor season as a sophomore with 4,700 points.

In swimming

Behind strong performances by four local swimmers, the Grove City women?s team captured its fifth consecutive Presidents? Athletic Conference title by winning the team title at the James E. Longnecker Invitational/PAC Championships last month.

Senior Angelo Palumbo, a Washington native and Trinity graduate, earned the Invitational?s Swimmer of the Year award as well as the PAC Most Valuable Performer. She swept the sprint races during the three-day event.

Palumbo had victories in the 50 freestyle (23.85), 100 freestyle (51.66) and 200 freestyle (1:52.29), and contributed to Grove City wins in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays and and both medley relay races. In all seven events, Palumbo qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships that will be held March 20-23 in Houston, Texas. She is a 15-time All-American.

Grove City freshman Megan Bilko of Canonsburg won two events, the 1650-yard freestyle in conference and pool-record record time of 17:20.59, and the 500 freestyle in 7:43.83.

Sophomore Lauren Cassano of Venetia swept the backstroke events. She won the 100 backstoke in 58.36 and the 200 in 2:06.44. She also had a fifth-place finish in the 200 individual medley and contributed to Grove City wins in the 200 and 400 medley relays. The 200 medley relay team?s time of 1:46.13 set the Grove City pool record. The relay teams also qualified for the NCAA meet.

Kait Riesmeyer of McMurray swept the butterfly races, winning the 100 in 56.91 and the 200 in 2:06.43. She also competed on both medley relays and the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays squads.

Bilko, Cassano and Riesmeyer each will join Palumbo at nationals. Riesmeyer, an 11-time All-American, and Cassano each will compete in two individual events, and Bilko will swim in the 1,650.

In the men?s competition at the PAC Championships, Westminster sophomore Jake Pletz of Venetia helped the Titans win the team title. Pletz, who was named first team All-PAC for the second year in a row, won the 200 freestyle (1:42.04), was second in the 200 individual medley and was part of two relays victories, the 800 freestyle and the 400 medley, the latter setting the school record of 3:23.90.

In softball

Former Peters Township pitcher Tara Konopka got her first college win Sunday for Drexel. Konopka, a freshman, pitched 6 2/3 innings of relief in Drexel?s 6-5 victory over Western Carolina in Myrtle Beach, S.C. She allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out nine.

Konopka earned a save Feb. 25 with two scoreless innings in the Dragon?s 4-3 victory over Marshall.

In tennis

Marshall University junior Karli Timko defeated Old Dominion?s Nika Khmolovska, 4-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-4, in a three-plus hour match Sunday to give the Thundering Herd a 4-3 victory over the Monarchs.

In addition to the marathon match, Timko, a Chartiers-Houston graduate, also won in doubles competition to account for half of Marshall?s points in the team score.

?I?m proud of how Karli finished the match, battling through adversity and bouncing back time and again,? said Marshall coach John Mercer.

Marshall has a 6-5 record. Timko, playing No. 6 singles is 8-3 after having a 10-4 record in singles play during the fall season.

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Source: http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20130305/SPORTS02/130309592&source=RSS

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