Lesson plan

Chudnovsky algorithm

The Chudnovsky algorithm is a fast method for calculating the digits of , based on Ramanujan's formulae. Published by the Chudnovsky brothers in 1988, it was used to calculate to a billion decimal places. It was used in the world record calculations of approx. 2.7 trillion digits of in December 2009, 10 trillion digits in October 2011, around 22.4 trillion digits in November 2016, 31.4 trillion digits in September 2018–January 2019, 50 trillion digits on January 29, 2020, 62.8 trillion digits on August 14, 2021, 100 trillion digits on March 21, 2022, 105 trillion digits on March 14, 2024, and 202 trillion digits on June 28, 2024. Recently, the record was broken yet again on November 18, 2025 with 314 trillion digits of pi. This was done through the usage of the algorithm on y-cruncher.

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Article summary

The Chudnovsky algorithm is a fast method for calculating the digits of , based on Ramanujan's formulae. Published by the Chudnovsky brothers in 1988, it was used to calculate to a billion decimal places. It was used in the world record calculations of approx. 2.7 trillion digits of in December 2009, 10 trillion digits in October 2011, around 22.4 trillion digits in November 2016, 31.4 trillion digits in September 2018–January 2019, 50 trillion digits on January 29, 2020, 62.8 trillion digits on August 14, 2021, 100 trillion digits on March 21, 2022, 105 trillion digits on March 14, 2024, and 202 trillion digits on June 28, 2024. Recently, the record was broken yet again on November 18, 2025 with 314 trillion digits of pi. This was done through the usage of the algorithm on y-cruncher.

Key claims

  1. publication date: 1988 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the publication date is "1988". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1375212650

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.