<P> Ancient civilizations required fairly accurate computed values for π for practical reasons , including the Egyptians and Babylonians . Around 250 BC the Greek mathematician Archimedes created an algorithm for calculating it . It was approximated to seven digits , using geometrical techniques , in Chinese mathematics , and to about five digits in Indian mathematics in the 5th century AD . The historically first exact formula for π , based on infinite series , was not available until a millennium later , when in the 14th century the Madhava -- Leibniz series was discovered in Indian mathematics . In the 20th and 21st centuries , mathematicians and computer scientists discovered new approaches that , when combined with increasing computational power , extended the decimal representation of π to many trillions of digits after the decimal point . Practically all scientific applications require no more than a few hundred digits of π , and many substantially fewer , so the primary motivation for these computations is the quest to find more efficient algorithms for calculating lengthy numeric series , as well as the desire to break records . The extensive calculations involved have also been used to test supercomputers and high - precision multiplication algorithms . </P>
<P> Ancient civilizations required fairly accurate computed values for π for practical reasons , including the Egyptians and Babylonians . Around 250 BC the Greek mathematician Archimedes created an algorithm for calculating it . It was approximated to seven digits , using geometrical techniques , in Chinese mathematics , and to about five digits in Indian mathematics in the 5th century AD . The historically first exact formula for π , based on infinite series , was not available until a millennium later , when in the 14th century the Madhava -- Leibniz series was discovered in Indian mathematics . In the 20th and 21st centuries , mathematicians and computer scientists discovered new approaches that , when combined with increasing computational power , extended the decimal representation of π to many trillions of digits after the decimal point . Practically all scientific applications require no more than a few hundred digits of π , and many substantially fewer , so the primary motivation for these computations is the quest to find more efficient algorithms for calculating lengthy numeric series , as well as the desire to break records . The extensive calculations involved have also been used to test supercomputers and high - precision multiplication algorithms . </P>
who did the first proof to find pi
who did the first proof to find pi
Archimedes
Archimedes