Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Whats up with Tau??

Ever wondered why a circle equals 2π?? Why can't it equal 1 something or other. That would make the math concerning circles much more beautiful, elegant, and logical. A few Mathematicians agree that a full rotation equaling 2π can be a bit cumbersome. So they doubled Pi, making if approximately 6.28 and named it Tau. If we use Tau, a full rotation of 360° equals 1 Tau, or simply Tau. Do you see how much more logical that is? This also makes equations concerning circles easier. It makes calculating radians easier which is one of the main arguments for Tau, but i'm just going to look at circumference for simplicity's sake. The Pi equation for circumference is c= 2πr (Pi is defined as c/2r which, if you do some algebra, is the same equation as c= 2πr.) The Tau equation for circumference is c= Tau•r (Tau is defined as c/r, and if you again do some algebra you get c=Tau•r.) In the Pi equation you multiply three things together while in the Tau equation you only multiply two things together. So it seems that Tau is simpler when dealing with circumference. So why don't we just switch to Tau?? Think about it. Pi is a lovely number that's been around for a long time and has a rich history. Brilliant mathematicians have used it. So would you kick a number like that to the curb? I love Pi, it's an amazing number, but I personally think maths should be as simple and elegant as possible, therefore, I believe that Tau might be better than using Pi. One final though for my non-maths loving readers. Pi day is on March 14 (3/14). You get to eat pie on that day which rocks! But on Tau day, June 28 (6/28), you get to eat two pies as that's what Tau equals. So now tell me, what do you think about Pi vs. Tau?
Addi

For those interested:

The Tau movement was championed by several brilliant mathematicians including Bob Palais and Michael Hartl.

A Kahn Academy video on Tau
http://www.khanacademy.org/math/trigonometry/basic-trigonometry/long_live_tau/v/tau-versus-pi
This video uses a lot of Trigonometry, but it's still a great video and quite easy to understand with limited knowledge of Trigonometry. Also it looks at radians, which is the main argument for Tau.

A Math Doodler video on Tau
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jG7vhMMXagQ&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DjG7vhMMXagQ
An important note here. Pi is not actually wrong; Tau can just be easier. You will get the same answers whether you use Pi or
Tau as they are equal to one another.

The Pi manifesto
http://www.thepimanifesto.com/
This site defends Pi.

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