Notes

93 pages, colour illustrations, maps, portraits
On cover: Big questions about math Contents: The Daily Planet -- Moons and months -- Seasons in the Sun -- The right angles -- Measuring the land -- It's all Greek -- A round world -- Measuring the world -- Why pi? -- Building Rome -- The art of building aqueducts -- Why measure any body? -- Night and day -- Make a sundial/Make a star clock -- Weighing up -- What goes around what? -- Galileo the Great -- The gravity of the situation -- Where on Earth? -- All at sea -- Longitude -- Mapping the world -- Hot and cold -- Measuring energy -- Electricity -- Light fantastic -- Speed of light -- Under pressure -- Can you hear me? -- The sound of music -- Modern times -- Disaster! -- Very big -- Very small -- Weird and wonderful -- The metric system
Summary: Why Pi? examines how numbers have allowed explorers, engineers, and scientists to explore, build, and discover. It takes readers through a mesmerizing, historical number journey, from the ancient civilizations that used numbers as simple measurement all the way on to Einstein's theory of relativity and discovering space. Numbers are eternal and have been a crucial element in human history. From sailing the seven seas to journeying deep below the waves and up through the atmosphere, it's all about numbers. Discover how simple modern-day things are all about measurement and see how the future will be shaped by numbers as we travel farther into space.