Area of a circle Measurement of a Circle" (c. 260 BCE), compare the area enclosed by a circle to a right triangle whose base has the length of the circle's circumference and whose height equals the circle's radius. If the area of the circle is not equal to that of the triangle, then it must be either greater or less. We eliminate each of these by contradiction, leaving equality as the only possibility. We use regular polygons in the same way. Suppose that the area "C" enclosed by the circle is greater than the area "T" = ⁄"cr" of the triangle. Let "E" denote
Circumference length of the edge. The circumference of a circle is the distance around it, but if, as in many elementary treatments, distance is defined in terms of straight lines, this can not be used as a definition. Under these circumstances, the circumference of a circle may be defined as the limit of the perimeters of inscribed regular polygons as the number of sides increases without bound. The term circumference is used when measuring physical objects, as well as when considering abstract geometric forms. The circumference of a circle is related to one of the most important mathematical constants. This constant,