Abstract
Let p N and P N denote half the lengths of the perimeters of the inscribed and circumscribed regular N-gons of the unit circle. Thus \({p_3} = 3\sqrt 3 /2,{\kern 1pt} {p_3} = 3\sqrt 3 ,{p_4} = 2\sqrt 2\) , and P 4 = 4. It is geometrically obvious that the sequences {p N } and {p N } are respectively monotonie increasing and monotonie decreasing, with common limit π. This is the basis of Archimedes’ method for approximating to π. (See, for example, Heath [2].) Using elementary geometrical reasoning, Archimedes obtained the following recurrence relation, in which the two sequences remain entwined:
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References
C. W. Clenshaw, Chebyshev Series for Mathematical Functions, Mathematical Tables, vol. 5, National Physical Laboratory, H.M.S.O., London, 1962.
T. L. Heath, The Works of Archimedes, Cambridge University Press, 1897.
G. M. Phillips and P. J. Taylor, Theory and Applications of Numerical Analysis, Academic Press, 1973.
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© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Phillips, G.M. (2004). Archimedes the Numerical Analyst. In: Pi: A Source Book. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4217-6_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4217-6_4
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