CentralNotice Bailey–Borwein–Plouffe formula From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2014) The Bailey–Borwein–Plouffe formula ( BBP formula ) is a spigot algorithm for computing the n th binary digit of pi (symbol: π ) using base 16 math. The formula can directly calculate the value of any given digit of π without calculating the preceding digits. The BBP is a summation -style formula that was discovered in 1995 by Simon Plouffe and was named after the authors of the paper in which the formula was published, David H. Bailey , Peter Borwein , and Simon Plouffe . Before that paper, it had been published by Plouffe on his own site. [ 1 ] The formula is ...