Abstract
homogeneous rod of length l < d is dropped at random onto the plane Buffon showed that the probability* that the rod will fall across one of the lines in the plane is given by
By actually performing this experiment a given large number of times and noting the number of successful cases, thus obtaining an empirical value for p, we may use the above formula to compute π. The best result obtained in this way was given by the Italian, Lazzerini, in 1901. From only 3408 tosses of the rod he found π correct to six decimal places! His result is so much better than those obtained by other experimenters that it is sometimes regarded with suspicion.
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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Berggren, L., Borwein, J., Borwein, P. (2000). Mathematical Circles: A Selection of Mathematical Stories and Anecdotes. In: Pi: A Source Book. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3240-5_43
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3240-5_43
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-3242-9
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