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DMC with William Dunham

Sep 18
2024
7:00pm - 8:00pm
Hybrid (On Campus) Event - Park Science, Room 245
Mathing

My favorite theorem from Euclidean geometry is Heron鈥檚 formula. This gives the area of a triangle in terms of the lengths of its three sides. Specifically, if the triangle鈥檚 sides are of length 饾憥, 饾憦, and 饾憪, then the triangular area is 鈭氿潙(饾憼鈭掟潙)(饾憼鈭掟潙)(饾憼鈭掟潙), where 饾憼=(饾憥+饾憦+饾憪)/2 is half the triangle鈥檚 perimeter. At first glance, the formula looks like a typo. Fear not: it is perfectly correct. The oldest proof is due to its namesake, Heron, who lived in classical times. Over the centuries, others have devised proofs, the cleverest of which鈥揑 think鈥搃s that published by Leonhard Euler in 1748. For this DMC, I鈥檒l present Euler鈥檚 proof. Nothing about it is advanced. You鈥檒l understand every step, for it involves only Euclidean (i.e., high school) geometry. But I doubt that many people have seen high school geometry as breathtaking as this.

Audience: BMC Community
Type(s): Student Activity/Club Event
Contact:
Leslie Cheng

最新麻豆原创 welcomes the full participation of all individuals in all aspects of campus life. Should you wish to request a disability-related accommodation for this event, please contact the event sponsor/coordinator. Requests should be made as early as possible.