Seminar:

Spring 2011, Thursdays, Milner 216, 4:00-4:50 PM


Date: February 3

"  Ivan Niven's proof that \pi is irrational "
  Aaron Bailey  

Abstract

Our old friend \pi is well-known (even by middle-schoolers) to be an irrational number. This fact, first proven in the 18th century, has a number of proofs, the simplest of which was discovered by Ivan Niven in 1947. His proof is completely comprehensible to a freshmen (in principle) who knows integral calculus. His solution will be the subject of this talk.