Emma Haruka Iwao, a Google Cloud developer advocate, has broken her personal record for the number of digits calculated for pi set three years ago. She calculated pi to its 31.4 trillionth digit in 2019, and now, using the same Google Cloud y-cruncher application, Iwao has calculated pi to its 100 trillionth digit, which is zero.
The computers took till March 2022 to complete the task after starting in October 2021. It was more than twice as fast at 157 days, compared to 121 days spent working out a shorter number in 2019. According to Iwao, she used the same tools and procedures as before, but the increased speed is owing to how Google Cloud has progressed since then, with 100Gbps networking, balanced Persistent Disks, and other capabilities highlighted in this deep dive into the calculations.
Another notable distinction is the vast amounts of data analyzed to determine estimates this far out. According to the blog post, computers processed around 19,000 TB (terabytes) of data during the initial record-breaking calculation. The machine handled around 82,000 TB of data this time to calculate 100 trillion digits.
The blog post also included some amusing facts to demonstrate how large 100 trillion is in human terms. 100 trillion inches of pie crust would apparently extend from Earth to the moon and back 3,304 times. If you want to see the source code or download all 100 trillion digits for yourself, you can do so right here.
Even with the increased processing speed, the notification will miss Pi Day 2022. However, it arrives just in time for Tau Day, which takes place on June 28th and commemorates a different circle constant that has been forgotten because it does not rhyme with pie.
