Al-Kāshı̄’s constant

Peter Harremoës

November 17, 2018

Here I have collected some facts about al-Kāshi’s constant that was used by the
Persian mathematician Jamshid al-Kāshı̄ in 1424. He calculated the number
to 16 decimals and several computer programs still use similar precision for
numerical calculations involving al-Kāshi’s constant. On this page I will denote
al-Kāshi’s constant by τ (tau), but for those readers who do not like τ as notation
for al-Kāshı̄’s constant, I suggest to use $ (varpi).

1 Definition of Al-Kashı̄’s constant

Definition Al-Kāshi’s constant τ is defined as the circumference of a unit circle.
As a consequence al-Kāshı̄’s constant equals the circumference divided the radius
for any circle. Since Archimedes’ constant π equals the circumference divided
by the diameter we have that τ = 2π.

2 Angle measurements
When angles are measured in radians, τ corresponds to one turn (or 360◦ ). Sim-
ilarly τ/2 corresponds to a halfturn (straight angle, 180◦ ), and τ/4 corresponds to
a quaterturn (right angle, 90◦ ). For circular sectors we have that a semi-circle
corresponds to τ/2, a quadrant corresponds to τ/4, a quintant correspomnds to
τ/5, a sextant corresponds to τ/6, and a octant corresponds to τ/8. Thus, when

using τ there is no dichotomy between measuring angles in radians, measuring

angles in turns, and the names of circular sectors.
A turn can be subdivided in centiturns (cτ ) and milliturns (mτ ). A centiturn
corresponds to 3.6◦ , which can also be written as 3◦ 360 . A milliturn correspond-
ing to an angle of 0.36°, which can also be written as 21’36". Pie charts illustrate
proportions of a whole as fractions of a turn. Each one percent is shown as an
angle of one centiturn. Angles can be measured in centiturns by use of a cen-
titurn protractor. Like degrees centiturns cannot be constructed by ruler and
compass. A deciturn can be constructed because a pentagon is constructable
and the angles can be divided in two.

1
Binary subdivisions of a turn are often used. Thus, 1/32 turn is called a point
and has been popular in navigation. In programming one often uses 1/256 =
2-8 turn (a binary radian) or 1/65 336 = 2-16 turn as units. In this way an
angle can be stored as integers in one or two bytes, and addition of angles is
simplifyed because overflow does not create any problems. Binary subdivisions
are constructable by ruler and compass.

3 Decimal expansion
The first part of the digital expansion of al-Kāshı̄’s constant is

τ = 6.2831853071 7958647692 5286766559 0057683943 3879875021

1641949889 1846156328 1257241799 7256069650 6842341359
6429617302 6564613294 1876892191 0116446345 0718816256

It is belived that τ is a normal number where any digit or string of digits

asymptotically appear with the same frequency. The Feynman point of τ begins
at digit 761 and consist of a sequence of seven 9s. The similar Feynman point
of π has only six 9s.

4 Continued fraction
Like Archimedes’ constant π one can expand al-Kāshı̄’s constant τ as a continued
fraction. It is
1
τ =6+
1
3+
1
1+
1
1+
1
7+
1
2+
1
146 +
1
3+
6 + ···
This leads to the following rational approximations of al-Kāshı̄’s constant.

2
 Approximation Described by Year Dec. exp.
6 The Bible 1st millenium BC 6
6 13 6.33
6 14 Babylonian math c. 1 600 BC 6.250
6 27 Archimedes c. 250 BC 6.2857
6 15
53 6.28302
32
6 113 Zǔ Chōngzhı̄ 5th century AD 6.28318 584
4687
6 16551 6.28318 53060
14093
6 49766 6.28318 53072 37
89245
6 315147 6.28318 53071 741

5 Formulas
A lot of formulas simplify by using al-Kāshı̄’s constant rather than Archimedes’
constant. A few formulas should simplify by changing to the circle constant
η = τ/4. Below I have listed some important formulas. I have used a check
mark if a formula has simplified and a sad smiley if a formula has become more
complicated. No smiley means that there have not been any significant change
in complexity. I have not included a list of integrals since all kinds of factors
appear giving no clear preference to any special choice of circle constant. One
should be aware that each formula is a result of a derivation and sometimes a
more complicated formula may may better reflect how the formula is derived.
Some formulas would simplify if other of the involved constants were redefined.

5.1 Geometry
Circumference of a circle
τ R. X
Area of disc
1 2
τR
2
become a special case of the formula for the area of a circular sector 12 θR2 .
Surface area of sphere
2τ R2 .
Volume of ball
2 3
τR .
3
Surface of a spherical segment
τ hR. X
Volume of spherical sector
τ hR2
.X
3

3
Volume of spherical segment
τ 2
h (3R − h) . /
6
Surface area of torus
τ 2 R1 R2 . X
Volume of torus
τ2
R1 R22 .
2
Volume of d dimensional unit ball when d is even
τ d/2
.X
2 · 4...d
Volume of d dimensional unit ball when d is odd
2τ bd/2c
.X
1 · 3...d
Gauss-Bonnet formula ˆ
K dA = τ · χ (M ) . X
M
What is normally called the 2π theorem states: A Dehn filling of M with each
filling slope greater than τ results in a 3-manifold with a complete metric of
negative sectional curvature. X

5.2 Complex numbers and complex analysis

Euler’s formula
eτ i = 1. X
The solutions to the equation z n = 1 are

z = ekτ i/n , k = 1, 2, · · · , n. X

Logarithms in the complex plane

ln z = ln r + (θ + nτ ) i, n ∈ Z. X

Cauchy’s integral formula

˛
1 f (z)
f (z0 ) = dz, X
τi z − z0
˛
n! f (z)
f (n) (z0 ) = n+1 dz. X
τi (z − z0 )
Residues ˛ n
1 X
f (z) dz = Res f (z) . X
τi z=ak
k=1

4
Laurant series
∞
X n
f (z) = cn (z − a) ,
n=−∞
˛
1 f (z)
cn = n+1 dz. X
τi (z − z0 )

5.3 Trigonometric function, oscilations, and harmonic anal-

ysis
Periodicity of trigonometric functions
sin (x + τ ) = sin (x) ,
cos (x + τ ) = cos (x) , X
 τ
tan x + = tan (x) .
2
Derived functions
d  τ
sin (x) = sin x + ,
dx 4
d  τ
cos (x) = cos x + .
dx 4
Harmonic oscillator
τ
ω= .X
T
Kepler’s third law constant, relating the orbital period (T ) and the semi-major
axis (a) to the masses (M and m) of two co-orbiting bodies
 τ 2
a3 = ω 2 a3 = G(M + m). X
T
The circle group
T = R/τ Z. X
Fourier series
∞
X
f (x) = cn einx ,
n=-∞ X
ˆ τ
1 −inx
cn = f (x) e dx .
τ 0

Fourier integrals
ˆ ∞
1
f (x) = F (ω)eiωt dω,
τ −∞
ˆ ∞ X
−iωt
F (x) = f (t)e dt.
-∞

5
5.4 Probability and statistics
Density of Gaussian distribution
 2
1 x
exp - .X
τ 1/2 2

The error function ˆ x  2

1 t
exp - dt. X
τ 1/2 0 2
Density of inverse Gaussian distribution
!
2
1 (x − µ)
exp - .X
(τ x3 )
1/2
2µ2 x

Density of lognormal distribution

!
2
1 (ln x)
exp - .X
x · τ 1/2 2

Cauchy distribution
2 1
./
τ x2 + 1
Density of von Mises distribution
1
exp (κ cos (x)) . X
τ I0 (κ)

Buffon needle experiment gives probability

4
.
τ
Asymptotic minimax redundancy of a d-dimensional random variable with dis-
tribution Pθ ˆ 
d n 1/2

ln + ln det I (θ) dθ . X
2 τ
Entropy power in terms of entropy

exp (2 · h (X))
N (X) = ,X
τ ·e

5.5 Physics
The approximate length of a simple pendulum with small amplitude is

A2
L=g .X
τ2

6
Planck’s constant
h
~= .X
τ
Einstein’s field equation
gik R 4G
Rik − + Λgik = τ 4 Tik ,
2 c
where the cosmological constant Λ is given by
Λ = τ ρvac 4G.
The reactance of an inductor is
τ f L. X
The susceptance of a capacitor is
τ f C. X
Coulomb’s constant where 0 is the vacuum permittivity of free space
1
F = .
2τ ε0
Magnetic permeability of free space relates the production of a magnetic field
in a vacuum by an electric current in units of Newtons (N) and Amperes (A):
µ0 = 2τ · 10-7 N/A2 .

5.6 Miscellaneous
Stirling’s approximation
1/2
n! ≈ (nτ e) nn e−n . X
The Riemann ζ-function evaluated for a positive even integer n
τn
ζ (n) =
Bn/2 . X
2n!
Functional equation for the Riemann function
2 τ · z 
ζ (1 − z) = z cos Γ (z) ζ (z) . X
τ 4
Euler’s reflection formula (where crd is the cord function)
τ
Γ (z) Γ (1 − z) = .
crd (τ z)
Jacobi’s identities for the theta function involves in its normal formulation both
π and τ , that in this case denotes the half period ratio. /
Weyl’s law
N (x)
lim = τ −d ω (d) V ol (Ω) . X
x→∞ xd/2

7
6 Programming languages
Many computer programming languages have al-Kāshi’s constant as a built in
constant.
Program Name Value
Python tau 6.28318 5. . . to the available precision
Processing TAU 6.28318 55
Perl 6 tau or τ 6.28318 53071 79586
Google tau or τ 6.28318 53071 79586
Nim TAU 6.28318 53071 79586
Java TWOPI 6.28318 53071 79586
Pascal TwoPI 6.28318 53071 79586
Wiring TWO PI 6.28318 53071 79586 47693
OpenFOAM twoPi() 6.28318 53071 79586 47693
Extreme Optimization Libraries TwoPi 6.28318 53071 79586 47692 52867 66558
Calculators HP 39gII and HP Prime tr
In the Haskell programming language there is a module that defines the constant
τ.

7 The symbol τ
The symbol “τ ” is the 19th letter in the Greek alphabet and denotes the ’t’-
sound. It is not an ASCII character, but is available in most modern text
processing systems.
Typesetting system code
LATEX \tau
HTML entity τ
HTML decimal τ
HTML Hex τ
Unicode U+03C4 or U+F074
In MSWord and OpenOffice “τ ” can be inserted by choosing the font “Symbol”
and typing “t”.

8 Other applications of the symbol τ

Like π and all other letters in the Latin and Greek alphabet the letter τ is used
in different ways in different parts of science. If the context is so different that
no confusion is possible or if τ is used in a combinations with other symbols in a
way that no confusion is possible the application is marked with a check mark
X. If an application could require modified notation or some extra clarifying
text to ensure that no confusion occur the application is marked by a sad smiley
/.

8
8.1 Mathematics
ˆ Ramanujan’s tau function in number theory. X

ˆ τ (n) can denote the number of divisors in n. X

ˆ Kendall’s tau rank correlation coefficient as a non-parametric correlation

measure in statistics. X
ˆ Torsion of a space curve. /

ˆ The half-period ratio in the theory of elliptic functions. /

8.2 Physics
ˆ The tau lepton in particle physics. The tau leptons are denoted τ − and
τ +. X
ˆ Torque, the rotational force in mechanics. Also called moment and de-
noted M. Torque and moment are vectors so the symbols are normally
equipped with a vector arrow or typesetted in bold face (τ ,→
−
τ , or M, or
−
→
M ). /
ˆ Shear stress in continuum mechanics. This is a tensor denoted τxy when
it measures stress along the xy plane. X

ˆ In the physical sciences, τ is sometimes used as time variable, to avoid

confusing with t as temperature. Examples are: The lifetime of a spon-
taneous emission process; the time constant of any device, such as an RC
circuit; proper time in relativity. It is used to denote ’a specific time’ or
’a second timescale’. It substitutes for t0 and T when these have already
been used. /
ˆ Tau in astronomy is a measure of opacity, or how much sunlight cannot
penetrate the atmosphere. X
ˆ The prefix of many stars, via the Bayer stellar designation system. (Tau
Ceti is such a star.) X

8.3 Other sciences

ˆ The specific tax amount. X

ˆ The symbol for tortuosity in hydro-geology. There are several competing

definitions of the concept of tortuosity.

ˆ The dose interval in pharmacokinetics. X

9
 ˆ The expressed period of the free-running rhythm of an animal (circadian
rhythm terminology), i.e., the length of the daily cycle of an animal when
kept in constant light or constant darkness. /
ˆ In General Tau Theory τ (x, t) denotes the perceived motion-gap (a psy-
chological principle of perception). Often it is denoted tau rather than τ.
X
ˆ Tau in biochemistry is a protein associated with microtubules and is im-
plicated in certain neurodegenerative diseases. X

9 Alternative symbols
Several symbols have been proposed to denote al-Kāshı̄’s constant.
In German speaking languages there have been some attempts to introduce
“pla” (from Latin plenus angulus) as an abbreviation for a turn, but at present
the word “Vollwinkel” is used without abbreviation and without SI prefixes.
In 1994 Dhananjay Ostawal proposed to use Ω as symbol for al-Kāshı̄’s con-
stant. This proposal was presented at the 63rd annual conference of the Indian
Mathematical Society in 1997
Robert Palais wrote an article in 2001 entitled “Pi is wrong!” [Pal01] where
he proposed to have a symbol and suggested to use the symbol ππ , which is
generated by the LATEX code \pi\mskip-7.8mu\pi . This symbol did not gain
popularity because it is only possible to write it using LATEX. Therefore several
other symbols have been proposed.
The symbols $ (varpi) and ϡ (sampi) have been proposed. Both of these
symbols are variations of π and are seldomly used so they will not create any
notational conflicts. Varpi is available in most programs that can write Greek
letters. Sampi can be written in LATEX using the code \textgreek{\char27}.
The symbol for registrered trademark r has been proposed because it contains
both a circle and a R that may refer to the radius, and similarly } has been
proposed.
V. Marciante has been proposed to use circ. to N. Wilderberger.
The Greek letter τ was proposed independently by several people. In 2010
Michael Hartl launced a Tau Manifesto where he advocated for using τ and
declared June 28th (6.28) as tau-day [Har10].
Thomas Cool has published two textbooks on geometry that used al-Kāshı̄’s
constant [Col08, Col11]. As symbol for al-Kāshı̄’s constant he used Θ.

10 Various circle constants

During the history of mathematics various circle constants have been used.

10
Babylonian constant The old Babylonians used the circumference of a regular
hexagon divided by the circumference of the circumscribed circle and this gives
6/τ . They used the approximate value 57/60 + 36/602 .

Archimedes’ constant This constant is defined as the circumference of a circle

divided by its diameter. Since ancient times round objects have been character-
ized by their diameter. At an early time it was realized that the circumference
could be calculated by multiplying the diamter by a certain number. Archimedes
proved that it is the same constant one need to use for calculating the area of
a circle. Before that different constants were used to calculate the area and
circumference of a circle. The first use of π on its own with its present meaning
was by William Jones in 1706. Jones introduces π as
1
Periphery (π)
2
and used the following formulas for circumference and area of a circle
c = πd
1 2
α = πd = c2 ÷ 4π
4
where α denoted the area.
Al-Bı̄rūnı̄’s constant The Islamic scholar Abur-Raih.ān al-Bı̄rūnı̄ (973-1048)
[Sch27, Kap. V] calculated the diameter of a circle divided by its circumference
and got the result
diameter 114 954312306
= + .
circumf erence 360 1628681471 · 360
Later in 1647 William Oughtred calculated the same constant and denoted it
by δ/π. Oughtred used this ’fraction’ as one symbol rather than a numerator
divided by a denomination.
Al-Kāshı̄’s constant Ramshı̄d Al-Kāshı̄ used the circumference of a circle
divided by its radius as circle constant in Treatise on the Circumference of
the Circle published in 1424 A.D. The idea of using this constant rather than
Archimedes’ constant may have been used earlier among Islamic mathematicians
than al-Kāshı̄, but al-Kāshı̄ calculated it with higher precision than any previous
mathematician.
D. Gregory seems to be the first in Europe to use al-Kāshi’s constant.
Eagle’s constant Albert Eagle published a book on elliptic functions that
introduced a lot of non-standard notation [Eag58]. For instance he used “τ ”
as notation for π/2, but it should be noted that π still appear in many of his
formulas. Eagle’s notational proposals have never been adapted. Recently,
David Butler has proposed to use the symbol η to denote Eagle’s constant.
In geometry the idea of using a right angle as unit dates back to Euclid. In
Germany and Schwitzerland the symbol x has been used to denote a right angle
and it was officially recognized as a unit for angle measurements in the period
1970-1996.

11
11 History
The Persian mathematician Jamshı̄d al-Kāshı̄ seems to have been the first
to use the circumference divided by the radius as circle constant rather than
Archimedes’ constant. In Treatise on the Circumference published 1424 he cal-
culated the circumference of a unit circle to 10 significant sexagesimal figures as
6;16,59,28,1,34,51,46,14,50. He then converted that into 17 significant decimal
figures 6.2831853071795865 [Luc53]. It took about 200 years before a more pre-
cise circle constant was calculated by Ludolph van Ceulen. For comparison, the
most precise measurements in physics are about 16 significant figures and ap-
pear in the field of quantum electro dynamics. Calculations with 16 significant
decimals are nowadays called double precision calculations.
Before al-Kāshı̄ in 1262-1263 the mathematician Nas.ı̄r al-Dı̄n al-T . ūsı̄ presented
an example where he calculates the circumference of a circle with radius is 1,00
in sexagemial ciffres [vL08]. Therefore the circumference of his circle is 60τ and
based on earlier calculations by Abul-Wafā’ he calculates the circumference. “So
if we make the diameter 120, the perimeter [i.e. of the circle] is 376 parts and
a fraction that is greater than 0;59,10,59,0 and less than 0;59,23,54,12 , and if
we change the two to the measure that Archimedes mentioned, the perimeter is
10
greater than 3 times the diameter plus somthing that is greater than 70;38,41,21 ,
10
and less than 70;38,14,29 .” Although the calculation of Nas.ı̄r al-Dı̄n al-T.ūsı̄
may have inspired al-Kāshı̄ to base his circle constant on a unit circle, the way
Nas.ı̄r al-Dı̄n al-T.ūsı̄ wrote the result of his calculation demonstrates that he just
calculated a circumference of a specific circle and he did not calculate a circle
constant with the falue 6.283... Nas.ı̄r al-Dı̄n al-T . ūsı̄ also writes “If the perimeter
of the circle is 31/7 times the diameter, and this is an approximate ratio used
by the survayors...” [vL08], which indicates that at time using Archimedes’
constant was thre standard.
In 1697 David Gregory used π/ρ to denote the circumference of a circle divided
by its radius, and he used this ’fraction’ as one symbol rather than a numera-
tor divided by a denomination. The first use of π on its own with its present
meaning was by William Jones in 1706. It took almost 100 years before the
notation π became standard notation. For instance M. Nicole [Nic47] did not
use any special symbol for the circle constant but made tables of the circum-
ference of inscribes and circumscribed polygons of the unit circle. This gave
6.28318 53070 31961 6 and 6.28318 53072 67891 2 as lower and upper bounds
on the circumference. Leonard Euler first used π in 1737 [Eul37, Thm. 3, p.
165], but in his papers π denoted perimeter. In some problems he used π to de-
note al-Kāshı̄’s constant and in other problems he used it to denote Archimedes’
constant or Eagle’s constant. At a place in a very influential book on analy-
sis by Euler [Eul48, Chapter VII] π was used to denote Archimedes’ constant
and because of Euler’s prestige in general, mathematicians have π to denote
Archimedes’ constant ever since. For instance T. Bugge in 1797 [Bug95, p. 237-
239] describes the idea of finding the value of the circumference divided by the
radius by inscribing and circumscribing a regular polygons leading to the value

12
6.283185307. As a consequence, he writes, the circumference divided by the
diameter is equal to 3.141592653. Bugge then explains that this number was
studied in more detail by L. Euler in 1737 and is denoted as π. After π had
become standard notation, some mathematicians have used 2π as if it was one
symbol. For instance H. Laurant always wrote 2π/4 rather than π/2 [Lau89].
The idea of using centiturns and milliturns as units was introduced by the
British astronomer and science writer Sir Fred Hoyle [Hoy62].
The idea of using τ as symbol for al-Kāshi’s constant was first discussed in
an unpublished manuscript by Joseph Lindenberg in 1992 [Lin11]. Dhananjay
Ostawal from Pune, India claims that he sought a copyright for ’omega’ to
denote al-Kāshi’s constant in 1997 and the idea was presented in a paper at
the annual conference of Indian Mathematical Society in 1997. Robert Palais
wrote an article in 2001 entitled “Pi is wrong!” [Pal01] where he proposed to
have a symbol and suggested to use a ’three-legged pi’ ππ with the LATEX code
\pi\mskip-7.8mu\pi . This symbol did not get any popularity because it is only
possible to write it using LATEX. After the paper of Palais a number of people
have proposed to replace the three legged pi by another more convenient symbols
as for instance $, or τ that has been proposed independently by several people
including the author of this page [Fre07, wee10]. In 2010 Michael Hartl launced
a Tau Manifesto where he advocated for using τ [Har10] and declared June
28th to be Tauday. In 2008 Thomas Colignatus published the first textbook on
geometry using al-Kashi’s constant [Col08, Col11].
The Greek character τ comes from a similar character in the Phoenician alpha-
bet and is derived from a cross. The Greeks aslo took over the name “tau” from
the Phoenicians and at that time the original meaning of the word was already
forgotten.
The word turn originates from Old English tyrnan and turnian. It comes from
Medieval Latin tornare, from Latin, to turn on a lathe, from Greek τ óρνoσ a
’lathe’. The word was influenced by Anglo-French turner, tourner to turn, from
Medieval Latin tornare, akin to Latin tenere to rub. The geometric notion of a
turn has its origin in the sailors terminology of knots where a turn means one
round of rope on a pin or cleat, or one round of a coil. For knots the English
terms of single turn, round turn and double round turn do not translate directly
into the geometric notion of turn, but in German the correspondence is exact.

References
[Bug95] T. Bugge. De første Grunde til Regning, Geometrie, Plan-
Trigonometrie og Landmaaling. S. Poulsens Forlag, Copenhagen, 1795.
[Col08] T. Colignatus. Trigonometry reconsidered. Measuring angles in unit
meter around and using the unit radius functions Xur and Yur. T.
Colignatus, 2008.

13
[Col11] T. Colignatus. Conquest of the Plane. Consultancy & Econometrics,
2011.
[Eag58] A. Eagle. Elliptic Functions as They Should Be: An Account, with
Applications, of the Functions in a New Canonical Form. Galloway &
Porter, Cambridge, 1958.
[Eul37] L. Euler. Variae observationes circa series infinitas. Commentarii
academiae scientiarum Petropolitanae, 9:160–188, 1737.
[Eul48] L. Euler. Introducio in Analysia Infinetarium, volume 1. Lausanne,
1748.
[Fre07] Freiddy. pi & 2 pi. Posted on the discussion forum of MathKB, Jan.
2007.
[Har10] M. Hartl. The tau manifesto. Website, June 28 2010.
[Hoy62] F. Hoyle. Astronomy. A history of man’s investigation of the universe.
Crescent Books, Inc, London, 1962.
[Lau89] H. Laurant. Traité D’Algebra. 4th. edition edition, 1889.
[Lin11] J. Lindenberg. Tau before it was cool, July 2011. The site contains an
unpublished manuscript from 1992.
[Luc53] P. Luckey. Der Lehrbrief ı̈¿½ber den Kreisumfang von Jamshid b.
Mas’ud al-Kashi, volume 6 of Abhandlungen der Deutschen Akademie
der Wissenschaften , Klasse für Matematik und allgemeine Naturwis-
senschaften. Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1953. Translated by Paul Luckey
Arabic text and German translation of the “Treatise on the Circum-
ference” of al-Kashi with commentary. Al-Kashi determines pi to 16
significant decimal digits.
[Nic47] M. Nicole. Dans lequel on détermine en quantités incommensurables
& en parties décimales, les valeurs des cótes & des espaces, de la suite
en progression double, des polygones régulieres, inscrits & circonscrits
au circle. Histoire de l’Académie royale des sciences avec les mémoires
de mathématique et de physique tirés des registres de cette Académie.,
pages 437–448, 1747. Published 1751.
[Pal01] R. Palais. π is wrong. Mathematical Intelligencer, 23(3):78, 2001.
[Sch27] C. Schoy. Die trigonometrischen Lehren des Persischen Astronomen
Abu’l-Raihan Muh. Ibn Ahmad al-Biruni. Orient-Buchhandlung Heniz
Lafaire K.-G., 1927.
[vL08] L. W. C. van Lit. ”the measurement of the circle” of archimedes in nasir
al-din al-tusi’s revision of ’middle books’ (tahrir al-mutawassitat), 2008.
[wee10] william e emba. π really is wrong! Posted at the discussion forum of
Good Math, Bad Math, Dec. 2010.

14
12 Link collection
Below are a number of links related to the use of al-Kāshı̄’s constant.

12.1 Instructional material

Animation of cosine labelled by τ .
Animation of sine labelled by τ .
Sams Teach Yourself Windows 8 A textbook that uses τ in its examples.
Tau for Trigonometry A website for learning trigonometry with τ instead of π.
Using Tau
Textbooks College Trigonometry with extensive use of the tau transcendental
Trigonometry with tau as circle constant.
Faith In Tau Animations and figures using τ .
6.283 A song on how to use τ.
Trig rerigged A trigonometry book by Thomas Colignatus where Θ is used to
denote al-Kāshı̄’s constant.
Conquest of the Plane Yet another trigonometry book by Thomas Colignatus
where Θ is used to denote al-Kāshı̄’s constant.

12.2 Scientific use

Theorem of the day Here τ is used in place of π in all theorems.
Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences This site has various links related to
al-Kāshı̄’s constant.
Treatise on the Circumference of the Circle by al-Kāshı̄ 1426. This is the Arabic
text. It has ben tranlated into German.
Information Divergence is more χ2 -distributed than the χ2 -statistic ISIT 2012.
Extendable MDL ISIT 2013.
Mutual information of Contingency Tables and Related Inequalities ISIT 2014.
Bounds on tail probabilities for negative binomial distributions Kybernetika
2016.
Sharp Bounds on Tail Probabilities for Poisson Random Variables WITMSE
2017.
Statistical Inference and Exact Saddle Point Approximations ISIT 2018.

12.3 Debate
The idea of introducing a symbol has been debated surprisingly much.

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12.3.1 Proposals

Here are links to places where people have made new proposals regarding nota-
tion related to al-Kāshı̄’s constant.
Tau before it was Cool Joseph Lindenberg describes that he proposed to use τ
to denote al-Kāshı̄’s constant allready in 1991.
Pune researcher claims he derived ’tau’ constant first Researcher Dhananjay
Ostawal from Pune, India said that he sought a copyright for ’omega’ as a
constant derivative for circle in 1997 and that he has presented a paper at the
annual conference of Indian Mathematical Society in 1997.
Pi is wrong! Page edited by Robert Palais.
Tau Manifesto Page edited by Michael Hartl.
Square CircleZ The author of this page proposes to use the symbol for registered
trademark r as symbol for al-Kāshı̄’s constant.
Tau Day 6.28 Page where it is proposed to use the symbol sampi to denote
al-Kāshı̄’s constant.
TeamLiquid Discussion forum where julianto proposes to use the symbol }.
Pi may be wrong, but so is Tau! Video by David Butler, where he argues that
it is more reasonable to use η = τ /4 (Eagle’s constant) as circle constant.

12.3.2 Discussions

The idea of using τ to denote al-Kāshi’s constant is discussed at numerous math

oriented news groups and we pages. Only a few are listed here.
Mathematical constant Archimedes Θ = 2π = 6.2831853 . . . Blog by Thomas
Colignatus.
http://www.math.utah.edu/∼palais/cose.html
The Last Stoic
Tau and dozenal notation
The way of the tau at hexnet.
Happy Tau (6.28) day by Alex Masterley.
The Pi Manifesto Page edited by Michael Cavers, where he argues in favor of π.
Pi is wrong! Long live Tau! Page edited by Dimitri Brant.
Radian Measurement: What It Is and How to Calculate It More Easily Using
τ Instead of π. Paper on angle measurements by Stanley Max.
Circle constant is a turn by Lulzim Gjyrgjialli.
The Circle Constant at Scienceline.
2 Pi or Not 2 Pi? Blog by Giorgia Fortuna where she carefully discuss to what
extend formulas become simpler or more complicated by switching from π to τ.
The Tao of Tau by Elizabeth Landau in Scientific American 2017.

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Is Pi wrong? Is Tau the correct circle constant? Stated as a question at
Quora.com with a lot of people stating their opinion.
Spiked Math Forums
https://matheducators.stackexchange.com/questions/530/pi-or-tau-how-should-
the-circle-constant-be-taught/1694#1694 Discussion at Mathematics Educators.
PI should be 6.283185... A Facebook group.
Tau (The True Circle Constant) Yet another Facebook group.
Tau Day - June 28 A facebook profile of Tau Day.
Half-tau Day The day where τ/2 is celebrated.
Stop celebrating Pi Day, and embrace Tau as the true circle constant by Chaim
Gartenberg in The Verge 2018.

12.3.3 Videos and animations

Fun video by Vi Hart describing the problem of cutting a pie when using pi.
Pi is wrong! Here comes Tau day. Video by Kevin Houston.
Tau versus Pi by Khan Academy.
Pi ain’t all that by Robert Dixon.
Protesting Pi on 1/2 Tau Day
Pi vs Tau
Tau (6,28...=2PIi) in Pascal’s Triangle Tau en el Triángulo de Pascal
Tau=6,28... and has Perfect Numbers Tau tiene Números Perfectos
Is Tau Better Than Pi? Discussion about the circle constant at 14. mar. 2014
How pi was almost 6.283185... Explanation of how π became the standard
notation for the circle constant 3.14 . . .

12.4 Articles in news medias

The use of τ has got a lot of attention in news medias.
Pi’s nemesis: Mathematics is better with tau Interview with M. Hartl in New
Scientist.
Why we have to get rid of pi for the sake of good math Interview with M. Hartl
at i09 webpage.
On Pi-Day, ’pi’ is under attack Article by CNN.
Mathematics Upstarts Look to Replace Pi With New Circle Constant Article
at Daily Tech.
Life of pi over? ’Tau’ may set calculations aright Article in the Times of India.
Tau Day: An Even More Fundamental Holiday Than Pi Day by Alessondra
Springmann.
’Tau day’ marked by opponents of maths constant pi BBC News.

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Forget Pi, Here Comes Tau Using a new constant would simplify things, say
experts. Article by Evann Gastaldo from the Newser Staff.
Happy Tau Day, everybody! Article at CBSNews.
Happy Tau Day! Article in International Business Times.
Tau Day today: Mathematicians show their work Article in Oregon Live.
On National Tau Day, Pi Under Attack Fox News.
Push to roll Pi Discussion at ABC in Australia.
Down with ugly pi, long live elegant Tau, physicist urges Article in the Star.
Pi’s 4,000-yr reign faces Tau challenge Article in Deccan Chronicle.
Mathematicians Want to Say Goodbye to Pi Yahoo News.
Second Annual Tau Day: Interview and Ideas!
What is Tau Day?
Your number’s up: Why mathematicians are campaigning for pi to be replaced
with alternate value tau
Tau Day Generates Controversy Among Math Scholars
Math wars: Debate sparks anti-pi day
Bye Bye Pi: Mathematic Scholars Want To Replace The Circle Constant
Moves to replace Pi with Tau
Pi Is Wrong! Mathematicians Declare Today ’Tau Day’
Life of pi in no danger Experts cold-shoulder campaign to replace with tau
Pi is wrong McGill Daily.
Why we have to get rid of pi for the sake of good math
A new place for activists: math
The Circle Constant Or what’s the matter with pi by Greg Uyeno 2016.

12.5 Various links

http://breadpig.com/tees/tau/ Here you can buy a τ -shirt.
http://www.zazzle.com/tau day shirt-235815786260277849 Here you can buy a
τ -day shirt.
Yet another tau-shirt page

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