Tau (mathematics)

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The number τ ( ; spelled out as tau) is a mathematical constant, equal to 2π, that has been proposed as an alternative to π by various proponents, who argue that mathematical notation would be simpler, clearer or pedagogically preferable if formulas and quantities (including angles) were described in terms of τ instead of π. A constant named tau is implemented in some programming languages and calculator apps as an alias for 2π. τ is approximately equal to It is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its radius, whereas π instead corresponds to the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Like π, τ can be defined in several other equivalent ways: notably, τ is equal to the period of the complex exponential function. Like π, τ is irrational and transcendental. While π is used almost exclusively in mainstream mathematical education and practice, it has been proposed in recent decades, most notably by physicist Michael Hartl in his 2010 article The Tau Manifesto, that τ should...

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