Pi From Block Collisions
You can calculate the digits of π by colliding two blocks of a specific mass ratio together against a wall and counting the number of collisions. (A collision is when a block collides with another block or the wall). The blocks and wall need to be perfectly elastic, meaning no energy is lost to the surroundings (such as sound or heat). Also, the surface the blocks are sliding on must be frictionless, and there must be no air resistance. The closest you could get to matching these conditions is sliding steel blocks on ice.
The second block must be a power of 100 times larger than the mass of the first block. That is, the mass of the second block satisfies the equation , where is the number of digits of π you want to calculate.
The program is based around the equation
Collisions: 0 π = 3.14159265 Block 1 velocity: 0 Block 2 velocity: 0
Block 2 mass:
Custom mass: