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| Vintage Pi pint glass from http://www.cafepress.com/+vintage_pi_pint_glass,554316495 |
This morning, when I woke up, I realized it was Pi day. At our morning meeting, the WDS math department presented a geeky and very intriguing talk about the applications of Pi and I found out that it's appropriate to take a Pi reflection moment at 1:59 pm. I guess that makes sense.
So, as I do with almost everything, I wondered how to relate Pi to beer. My initial thoughts settled on the familiar and beautiful shape of the pint glass. Your standard pint glass is a simple and practical design composed of two circles: a larger mouth that tapers to a slightly smaller base, like a cut off cone. I wondered how to calculate the volume of a pint glass mathematically, instead of experimentally (as my typical scientific self would prefer).
Turns out, someone's already done it. While they were drinking a pint, no less.
Check out The Pickle Matrix, preferably while drinking a good brew out of a standard pint glass. Be sure to have your graphing calculator handy. Happy Pi(nt) day!
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