Crop Circles -

Is crop circle pi from the sky or just another con? This crop circle, reported June 1, 2008, may cause more controversy in the debate whether crop circles are a result of extraterrestrial activity.

When it comes to crop circles, a simple pattern is usually enough to grab attention. But this one has had crop circle enthusiasts and experts stumped.

Carved out in a barley paddock, this 50 metre-wide pattern is said to be a pictorial representation of the first 10 digits of pi, one of the most fundamental symbols in mathematics.

Believers in extra-terrestrials could argue it was made by mathematically minded aliens on a field trip to Earth. Sceptics will think it the work of humans with a fondness for figures and a penchant for puzzles.

But whatever its origins, the experts say it is the most complex crop circle ever seen in Britain.

"The fact that the Pi decimal point is included (in the 2008 Barbury Castle barley pattern) and there is rounding up to 10 decimal places is to me a little mind boggling!" – Michael Reed, Astrophysicist.

Although it appears complicated at first glance, the puzzle does make perfect sense if approached logically and taken step by step.

The coded image depicts 3.141592654, the first ten digits of Pi. How is it done?

Firstly, the diagram is divided into ten equal sections (a bit like a dartboard, or a cake sliced ten ways) because there are ten staggered edges located at strategic points around the crop circle.

To help understand how this is arrived at, look again at the photo above and imagine a giant ruler being aligned with the edges (ignore the tractor lines, which were there before the circle was created).

That sets the basic framework. Next, each number in Pi is represented in the diagram by a corresponding number of coloured blocks.

Beginning in the centre with the arrow marked 'Start', the first number, three, is represented by three red blocks from clockwise.

Follow this round and this takes you to the decimal point, which is depicted by a small circle in the barley.

The number after the decimal point is one, represented by one green block.

The same pattern continues for each of the numbers - four purple blocks, one orange, five blue, nine yellow, two purple, six red, five green, then four dark blue, followed by three circles, or dots, acknowledging that Pi is infinite.