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posted by martyb on Friday November 13 2015, @10:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-only-half-a-Tau dept.

While most people associate the mathematical constant π (pi) with arcs and circles, mathematicians are accustomed to seeing it in a variety of fields. But two University scientists were still surprised to find it lurking in a quantum mechanics formula for the energy states of the hydrogen atom.

"We didn't just find pi," said Tamar Friedmann, a visiting assistant professor of mathematics and a research associate of high energy physics, and co-author of a paper published this week in the Journal of Mathematical Physics. "We found the classic seventeeth century Wallis formula for pi, making us the first to derive it from physics, in general, and quantum mechanics, in particular."

The Wallis formula—developed by British mathematician John Wallis in his book Arithmetica Infinitorum—defines π as the product of an infinite string of ratios made up of integers. For Friedmann, discovering the Wallis formula for π in a quantum mechanics formula for the hydrogen atom's energy states underscores π's omnipresence in math and science.

"The value of pi has taken on a mythical status, in part, because it's impossible to write it down with 100 percent accuracy," said Friedmann, "It cannot even be accurately expressed as a ratio of integers, and is, instead, best represented as a formula."


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  • (Score: 2) by opinionated_science on Saturday November 14 2015, @03:22AM

    by opinionated_science (4031) on Saturday November 14 2015, @03:22AM (#263017)

    Any chance a real citation can be found? The article doesn't have a link, which you would think is an oversight for a PR dept....

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  • (Score: 2) by cosurgi on Saturday November 14 2015, @03:39PM

    by cosurgi (272) on Saturday November 14 2015, @03:39PM (#263282) Journal

    yeah.. it's only written " Journal of Mathematical Physics accepted the paper in less than 24 hours." so we could try to look there for some of those authors: Carl Hagen, Tamar Friedmann or Moshe Machover

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