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The computation of certain numbers using the ruler and compass

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Visit this site: http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/journals/JIS/compass.html
Author:Simon Plouffe, Journal of Integer Sequences
Description: A method for computing some numbers bit by bit using only the ruler and compass, in particular the construction for arctan(X)/Pi. This method is a spigot algorithm and can be applied to numbers that are constructible over the unit circle and the ellipse. The method is precise enough to produce about 20 bits of a number, or 6 decimal digits, in minutes, which is unusual since there is no hand computation by itself or with a computer, and classical methods can hardly achieve such a precision in such a short time.
Levels: College, Research
Languages: English
Resource Types: Articles
Math Topics: Constructions, Number Theory

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