Today real numbers are most often represented by applying (elementary) functions to (decimal) integers. Throughout history, though, arithmetic and propositions involving (positive) real numbers were often considered from a purely geometrical point of view. Real numbers were identified by the length of some line segment and, e.g., the product of two numbers was identified by [...]
Posts tagged geometry
Line-line Intersection in the Plane
How do you calculate the point where two lines in the plane intersect? It is not very hard to do, but the formula can look quite complicated, depending on how you write it up. This article is a reminder that it can be expressed in a simple manner.
Fractions and Circles
Fractions produced by mediants have some very interesting properties. We saw some of them in connection with the Stern-Brocot tree. This articles explores a more curious property, relating fractions to circles in the plane. It was discovered in 1938 by Lester R. Ford and is also mentioned in Conway and Guy’s The Book of Numbers.
