(Graphic Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Friday we will observe the first of the two spring geek holidays. Yes, I said geek, not Greek. Pi day will be here before we know it.

Pi day is celebrated every March 14 to celebrate the mathematical constant that is pi. Pi is the number that is the ratio of the diameter of a circle in relationship to the circumference. In its shortest form, Pi equals roughly 3.14. If you have a pie (see what I did there) that is 12 inches across, you will have a little more than three feet of crust to munch on, give or take a few crumbs. Here is the formula C = 2 x pi x r. Or you can just use a fork.

Pi can also be used to determine the area of a circle by multiplying the radius of a circle by Pi. So if you want to determine how much sugar you will need to cover your pie you only have to square the radius, 6 inches, and multiply it by pi to get the number of square inches that you will need to cover. Our pie would thus have 113.09 square inches, plus or minus a few crumbs.

Pi has been calculated for thousands of years. Over time, and by using massive computers, people much smarter than myself have calculated it out to millions of digits. Here are the first 100 digits. 3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679. Anything beyond that is just showing off.

Pi is used every day, again by people smarter than me to help things function better. The wifi on airplanes for instance use pi to aim the antenna toward the satellite it uses. Manufacturers of rolled paper use it to determine roll size. The paper you are reading this on started life as a six-mile-long piece of paper. Pi had to be used to correctly determine the roll diameter so it can fit onto a printing press. Pi is also used to determine how much liquid will fit in cylinders like the ones that are used at industries throughout the valley.

How do you celebrate Pi Day? Well, you eat pie of course.

Pi Day was founded in 1988 by Larry Shaw who worked at a science museum in San Francisco. He and others at the museum reportedly marched around a circle and then ate fruit pies.

Eating pie, not surprisingly, seems to be the main way to celebrate the day. Others choose to recite the number out as many decimal places as they can. I for one would rather eat pie. Some colleges, including M.I.T., have informed prospective students of acceptance on the date.

The next geek holiday will come on the Fourth of May. May the Fourth be with you, Star Wars fans.

Art Smith is online manager of the News and Sentinel, he can be reached at asmith@newsandsentinel.com.