Tau Has Its Day in South Orange

Pi move over. There's a new mathematical constant in town.  

Pi, which defines a circle as the ratio between circumference and diameter, is celebrated on March 14. Tau, which some mathematicians hope to see replace pi as the constant of choice, was celebrated on June 28. Why? Because tau is twice as large as pi; pi = 3.14 (or March 14), so tau claims 6.28 (or June 28). Tau defines a circle in terms of its circumference and radius.

US mathematicians Bob Palais and Michael Hartl argue that tau, twice as large as pi at approximately 6.28, makes many calculations easier to perform.

Despite the holiday, the area around South Orange's Tau sculpture was quiet yesterday. None of those Patch spoke to celebrated Tau. One, a math teacher, was skeptical about the holiday becoming popular.

"Pi is a beautiful equation," said Bill Caller, "and you can celebrate it with pie. It's hard to beat that in the math world or classroom."