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Approximation of π and the method of exhaustion — Archimedes

~250 BC · Transmission: Global
MathematicsMethodGreek

Archimedes bounds π between 3+10/71 and 3+1/7 using 96-sided polygons. First rigorous use of what we now call limits. His Method (rediscovered in 1906 in the Archimedes Palimpsest) reveals that he used proto-integral intuitions 1900 years before Newton.

InstitutionSyracuse
Historical regionMagna Graecia (present-day Sicily)
Primary sourceArchimedes — On the Measurement of a Circle; The Method (Archimedes Palimpsest)
Secondary sourceMacTutor, St Andrews — Archimedes of Syracuse
Original languageAncient Greek
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