Posts tagged 'altitude'

F.35 Obtuse and Acute Triangles

By Euclid’s Elements II.12 (excess) and II.13 (deficit), the square on side a opposite an obtuse or acute angle satisfies a^2 = b^2 + c^2 +/- 2 c x, where x = |a^2 - (b^2 + c^2)| / (2 c) is the projection of side b onto line c and h = sqrt(b^2 - x^2) is the altitude.

F.42 Altitude of a Pythagorean Triple Triangle

In a right triangle with legs a, b and hypotenuse c, the altitude h_c = a b / c satisfies the Inverse Pythagorean Theorem 1/h_c^2 = 1/a^2 + 1/b^2 and divides the hypotenuse into projections u = b^2/c and y = a^2/c with h_c^2 = u y.

F.43 Radical Axes and Radical Center

The radical axis of two circles of radii r_1, r_2 with center separation d cuts the line of centers at x = d/2 + (r_1^2 - r_2^2)/(2 d) from O_1, and the three radical axes of the vertex-altitude circles Gamma_A(h_A), Gamma_B(h_B), Gamma_C(h_C) concur at the radical center W.

F.50 Altitudes, Mitchell’s Reciprocal Heron Formula, and the Symphonic Theorem

Given the three altitudes h_A, h_B, h_C of triangle ABC with reciprocal semiperimeter H = (h_A^{-1} + h_B^{-1} + h_C^{-1})/2, Mitchell’s reciprocal Heron formula states K^{-1} = 4 sqrt(H (H - h_A^{-1})(H - h_B^{-1})(H - h_C^{-1})), and a triangle is right-angled at C if and only if h_A^{-2} + h_B^{-2} = h_C^{-2} (the Symphonic Theorem).