A Geometric Approach to Computing π: From Inscribed Triangles to Precision Control

We present a formula for computing π that combines geometric intuition with direct precision control. Beginning with a triangle inscribed in a unit circle, we derive a simple computational formula using the small-angle approximation. We observe that this formula has a linear relationship between the exponent n and the number of correct decimal places obtained (2n + 3). By inverting this relationship, we obtain a refined formula where desired decimal precision d can be specified directly. The resulting formula computes π to exactly d correct decimal places for d ≥ 3, with predictable error scaling as 1.595 × 10^-(d+1). We derive this error bound using Taylor series analysis and validate the formula computationally to 110 decimal places.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-01-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18158514
Primary Topic
Polynomial and algebraic computation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

A Geometric Approach to Computing π: From Inscribed Triangles to Precision Control

Eric Yaw
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Polynomial and algebraic computation
article

A Geometric Approach to Computing π: From Inscribed Triangles to Precision Control

Eric Yaw
article en

Abstract

We present a formula for computing π that combines geometric intuition with direct precision control. Beginning with a triangle inscribed in a unit circle, we derive a simple computational formula using the small-angle approximation. We observe that this formula has a linear relationship between the exponent n and the number of correct decimal places obtained (2n + 3). By inverting this relationship, we obtain a refined formula where desired decimal precision d can be specified directly. The resulting formula computes π to exactly d correct decimal places for d ≥ 3, with predictable error scaling as 1.595 × 10^-(d+1). We derive this error bound using Taylor series analysis and validate the formula computationally to 110 decimal places.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Openalex Percentile: Top 94%
Polynomial and algebraic computation
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