Scientists calculate Pi to be 62.8 trillion digits

Swiss scientists’ world record calculations now mark the last 10 digits of Pi as 7817924264

The team announced on Monday that Swiss researchers broke the world record for the most accurate value of Pi over the weekend. They calculated the first 62.8 trillion digits, 12.8 trillion decimal points higher than the previous record.

The Data Analysis, Visualization and Simulation Competence Center (DAViS) of the Graubunden University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland started calculations for the first time in late April. Then back up the calculated data to a high-performance computer, and write it into hexadecimal notation by the Y-type processor. It is then converted to a decimal system and verified by mathematical algorithms.

The whole process took 108 days and 9 hours, which is about four months to complete. According to the methodology detailed on the university's website, this includes 139 hours of downtime for backup or system maintenance. Last year's world record was established in 2020 in Alabama, and it took 8 months to reach.

"We hope to achieve several goals through record-setting attempts," said Dr. Heiko Rölke, head of DAViS, in a press release. "In the process of preparing and executing calculations, we have accumulated a lot of expertise and optimized our processes."

The university’s website states that calculating the exact number of pi is "an unofficial benchmark for high-performance computing." Knowing the complete sequence of pi is not really valuable for research purposes, but the ability to calculate it is certainly valuable.

"Calculations show that we are ready to use data and computational power intensive in R&D," project manager Thomas Keller said in a press release. Both Keller and Rölke led the work.

According to the university, this high-performance computing can be used for machine learning or DNA sequence analysis. Keller pointed out that the calculations also pointed out critical vulnerabilities in the system, such as insufficient backup capabilities.

The researcher was unable to immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to their survey results, the last 10 known numbers of pi are now 7817924264. The DAViS team has registered to enter the Guinness World Records, and the full figures will be announced later.