UltraCalcFunctionPi Class

Returns the mathematical constant for the Greek letter, pi.

Syntax

Visual Basic

'Declaration
 
Public Class UltraCalcFunctionPi 
   Inherits BuiltInFunctionBase

C#

public class UltraCalcFunctionPi : BuiltInFunctionBase 

Remarks

PI()

The mathematical constant pi represents the relationship between a circle's diameter and it's circumference. It is also the constant relating the square of a circle's radius with the surface area of the circle. It has a great many applications in mathematics, geometry, the sciences, and engineering.

The constant pi is a non-terminating decimal number, although UltraCalc approximates it to 15 significant digits of precision (3.14159265358979).

A common use of the PI function in UltraCalc is to convert a measurement in radians which is the form in which trigonometric functions take their arguments, and the more conventional degrees of arc. This conversion can be accomplished by multiplying the radian measurement by PI()/180. The following table describes some benchmarks for comparison between radians and degrees.

Radians	Degrees	Turns of a wheel (common example)
0	0	no turns
PI/4	45	one-eighth turn
PI/2	90	one-quarter turn
PI	180	one-half turn
2x PI	360	one complete turn
3x PI	540	one and one-half turn