Google's Emma Haruka Iwao Breaks the World Record for Calculating Pi

She used the power of cloud computing.

By Mariella Moon

Mizina | Getty Images via engadget

This story originally appeared on Engadget

Google has something big to celebrate for Pi Day this year: one of its teams has broken the Guinness World Record for the most accurate value of pi. Emma Haruka Iwao and her colleagues used the power of cloud computing to calculate for 31,415,926,535,897 digits of pi. That's 9 trillion digits more than the previous record and a whole novel longer than the 3.14 value most of us know. To accomplish that task, Iwao had to run a pi-benchmark application called y-cruncher on 25 Google Cloud virtual machines for 121 days.

According to Google, the problem with computing for such a large number is that the time and resources needed for the task increase more rapidly than the number itself. Iwao said the biggest challenge was that the project required "a lot of storage and memory to calculate." It needed a whopping 170 terabytes -- equivalent to all the indexed/searchable parts of the internet back in 2002 -- to be completed. In addition, the longer the supercomputer works on a computation, the higher the risk of hardware outage that can impact the process.

Running the computation in the cloud prevented those issues from arising and made access to 170 terabytes possible, since Google just had to keep its cloud infrastructure running. Also, it allows the tech giant to sell researchers access to the digits for $40-per-day without having to save the massive dataset in physical drives.

Mariella Moon
Mariella Moon is an associate editor at Engadget.

Related Topics

Editor's Pick

This 61-Year-Old Grandma Who Made $35,000 in the Medical Field Now Earns 7 Figures in Retirement
A 'Quiet Promotion' Will Cost You a Lot — Use This Expert's 4-Step Strategy to Avoid It
3 Red Flags on Your LinkedIn Profile That Scare Clients Away
'Everyone Is Freaking Out.' What's Going On With Silicon Valley Bank? Federal Government Takes Control.
Leadership

How to Detect a Liar in Seconds Using Nonverbal Communication

There are many ways to understand if someone is not honest with you. The following signs do not even require words and are all nonverbal queues.

Celebrity Entrepreneurs

'I Dreaded Falling in Love.' Rupert Murdoch Is Getting Hitched for the Fifth Time.

The 92-year-old media tycoon announces he will wed former San Francisco police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith.

Leadership

How Great Entrepreneurs Find Ways to Win During Economic Downturns

Recessions are an opportunity to recalibrate and make great strides in your business while others are unprepared to brave the challenges. Here's how great entrepreneurs can set themselves up for success despite economic uncertainty.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas To Start Right Now

To start one of these home-based businesses, you don't need a lot of funding -- just energy, passion and the drive to succeed.

Starting a Business

Selling Your Business? Do These 6 Things Right Now.

If you want the maximum price you need to make these moves before you do anything else.

Business News

New Mexico Is Hiring Professional Bear Huggers -- Here's How to Land the Dream Job

The American Black Bear was selected as the state's official animal on February 8, 1963, by the New Mexico Legislature.