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I think this needs it's own thread.
e and pi are transcendental numbers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_number
The square root of 2 is n irrational number:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrational_number
1/3 is a rational number
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_number
SixNein said:The mathematical reason floating point numbers behave as they do on computers has nothing to do with binary; instead, it is due to the inability of processors to work with fractions. So when you ask the computer to store 1/3, it does the calculation as 1 divided by 3 in decimal notation. So the computer winds up with .33333333-> and is truncated to a certain precision. If an operation such as 3 * (1/3) is performed, the computer takes .333333333 and times it by 3 to arrive at .9999999999. But its still a rational number because it repeats.
For example... the .333333333 can be expressed as a fraction by taking 33 (the pattern) and dividing by 99. The .999999999 can be expressed as fraction with 99/99.
Irrational numbers, like PI, are always irrational. There are no patterns.
e and pi are transcendental numbers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_number
The square root of 2 is n irrational number:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrational_number
1/3 is a rational number
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_number