Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have uncovered that mathematical formulae for pi, created 100 years ago by Indian genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, are connected to key physics theories today. Ramanujan’s 1914 paper featured 17 formulae to compute pi very efficiently, helping calculate many digits with fewer terms. These formulae now underpin modern methods and supercomputer-based algorithms such as the Chudnovsky algorithm. Professor Aninda Sinha from IISc said, “Scientists have computed pi up to 200 trillion digits using an algorithm called the Chudnovsky algorithm. These algorithms are actually based on Ramanujan’s work.” The research team, including former IISc PhD student Faizan Bhat, discovered Ramanujan’s formulae appear naturally in a broad class of physical theories called logarithmic conformal field theories. These theories help explain complex phenomena like turbulence, percolation, and aspects of black holes. Bhat explained, “[In] any piece of beautiful mathematics, you almost always find that there is a physical system which actually mirrors the mathematics. Ramanujan’s motivation might have been very mathematical, but without his knowledge, he was also studying black holes, turbulence, percolation, all sorts of things.” The IISc highlighted that this century-old mathematics now improves the speed and ease of calculations in modern high-energy physics. The discovery bridges the gap between abstract mathematical formulae and real-world physical systems, creating new paths for research.