Swiss Review / December 2021 / No.6 18 Science SUSANNE WENGER The team of Swiss scientists led by computer science professor Heiko Rölke at the University of Applied Sciences of Grisons (FHGR), clinched the world record early on a Saturday morning last August. They had managed to calculate pi to 62.8 trillion decimal places, surpassing the previous record set by the American Timothy Mullican in 2020 by 12.8 trillion decimal places. Their calculation was three times faster, taking 108 days and nine hours. Mullican needed 303 days for his 50 trillion decimal places. According to the professor, reaction to the newworld record has been “overwhelming”. Rölke, who heads the recently established Centre for Data Analysis, Visualisation and Simulation in Chur, admits he was hoping the record attempt would generate a certain amount of PR. However, media inquiries came flooding in not only from within Switzerland but from all over the world. From prestigious newspapers, tomajor television channels and professional journals – everyone wanted to report on the world record. “The funniest bit was speaking live on South African radio,” he says. “We talked a bit about pi.” A fascinating number π, spelled out as “pi” and named after the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet, is a number many of us remember from school. It is the ratio between a circle’s Swiss scientists calculate the most exact pi number ever The University of Applied Sciences of Grisons made global headlines by calculating pi to 62.8 trillion decimal places – a new world record. The scientists behind this result were simply testing the performance of their supercomputer for the purpose of beneficial research. The record-breaking calculation was more than just a fun challenge for Heiko Rölke. Photo: provided. Main picture: the first 12,970 digits of Pi. That should be precise enough for most applications.
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