Yesterday was Pi Day. The day in which the month and day of the calendar is 3/14, the first three digits to the mathematical formula for pi.Stamps of Distinction posted a puzzle that relates to pi.
Suppose you could put a steel band tightly around the equator of Earth. Assume, for the sake of this puzzle, that the earth is perfectly round, without hills or valleys, and that the steel band would make an exact circle around the Earth where it is touching the surface evenly. Then, you take a cutting torch, open up a gap in this band, and weld in exactly 1 extra meter (for non-metric readers, approximately 1 yard) of metal.
Question: how high would this extra meter of material allow the band to be raised, evenly, throughout the entire circumference of the earth. If you haven't heard this question before, the answer will likely amaze you.
(thanks Tony)
3 comment(s):
What is even more amazing is that the answer is the same if you are talking about the earth, or a golf ball.
Or even the solar system, galaxy, or universe (if it's circular). The change in diameter is always one meter divided by Pi, or slightly more than a foot, which means it would rise about 6 inches off the surface of the Earth.
Thanks for the comments, you guys, I finally get it now.
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