Circle measurements in ancient China |
| |
Authors: | Lam Lay-Yong Ang Tian-Se |
| |
Affiliation: | Department of Mathematics, National University of Singapore, Singapore 0511, Republic of Singapore;Department of Chinese Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| |
Abstract: | This paper discusses the method of Liu Hui (3rd century) for evaluating the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, now known as π. A translation of Liu's method is given in the Appendix. Also examined are the values for π given by Zu Chongzhi (429–500) and unsurpassed for a millenium. Although the method used by Zu is not extant, it is almost certain that the applied Liu's method. With the help of an electronic computer, a table of computations adhering to Liu's method is given to show the derivation of Zu's results. The paper concludes with a survey of circle measurements in China. |
| |
Keywords: | Liu Hui Zu Chongzhi computations of π decimal fractions polygons ratio of the circle circumference to the diameter |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|