English

Circular reasoning: who first proved that $C/d$ is a constant?

History and Overview 2013-03-15 v2

Abstract

We answer the question: who first proved that C/dC/d is a constant? We argue that Archimedes proved that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter is a constant independent of the circle and that the circumference constant equals the area constant (C/d=A/r2C/d=A/r^{2}). He stated neither result explicitly, but both are implied by his work. His proof required the addition of two axioms beyond those in Euclid's \emph{Elements}; this was the first step toward a rigorous theory of arc length. We also discuss how Archimedes's work coexisted with the 2000-year belief -- championed by scholars from Aristotle to Descartes -- that it is impossible to find the ratio of a curved line to a straight line.

Cite

@article{arxiv.1303.0904,
  title  = {Circular reasoning: who first proved that $C/d$ is a constant?},
  author = {David Richeson},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1303.0904},
  year   = {2013}
}

Comments

17 pages, 8 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-21T23:36:38.943Z