In geometry, Fagnano's problem is an optimization problem that was first stated by Giovanni Fagnano in 1775:
For a given acute triangle determine the inscribed triangle of minimal perimeter.
The solution is the orthic triangle, with vertices at the base points of the altitudes of the given triangle.
The orthic triangle, with vertices at the base points of the altitudes of the given triangle, has the smallest perimeter of all triangles inscribed into an acute triangle, hence it is the solution of Fagnano's problem. Fagnano's original proof used calculus methods and an intermediate result given by his father Giulio Carlo de' Toschi di Fagnano. Later however several geometric proofs were discovered as well, amongst others by Hermann Schwarz and Lipót Fejér. These proofs use the geometrical properties of reflections to determine some minimal path representing the perimeter.
A solution from physics is found by imagining putting a rubber band that follows Hooke's Law around the three sides of a triangular frame , such that it could slide around smoothly. Then the rubber band would end up in a position that minimizes its elastic energy, and therefore minimize its total length. This position gives the minimal perimeter triangle. The tension inside the rubber band is the same everywhere in the rubber band, so in its resting position, we have, by Lami's theorem,
Therefore, this minimal triangle is the orthic triangle.
A perimeter is a closed path that encompasses, surrounds, or outlines either a two dimensional shape or a one-dimensional length. The perimeter of a circle or an ellipse is called its circumference.
A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called vertices, are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called edges, are one-dimensional line segments. A triangle has three internal angles, each one bounded by a pair of adjacent edges; the sum of angles of a triangle always equals a straight angle. The triangle is a plane figure and its interior is a planar region. Sometimes an arbitrary edge is chosen to be the base, in which case the opposite vertex is called the apex; the shortest segment between the base and apex is the height. The area of a triangle equals one-half the product of height and base length.
In geometry, two figures or objects are congruent if they have the same shape and size, or if one has the same shape and size as the mirror image of the other.
A right triangle or right-angled triangle, sometimes called an orthogonal triangle or rectangular triangle, is a triangle in which two sides are perpendicular, forming a right angle.
In Euclidean geometry, a kite is a quadrilateral with reflection symmetry across a diagonal. Because of this symmetry, a kite has two equal angles and two pairs of adjacent equal-length sides. Kites are also known as deltoids, but the word deltoid may also refer to a deltoid curve, an unrelated geometric object sometimes studied in connection with quadrilaterals. A kite may also be called a dart, particularly if it is not convex.
In geometry, bisection is the division of something into two equal or congruent parts. Usually it involves a bisecting line, also called a bisector. The most often considered types of bisectors are the segment bisector, a line that passes through the midpoint of a given segment, and the angle bisector, a line that passes through the apex of an angle . In three-dimensional space, bisection is usually done by a bisecting plane, also called the bisector.
In geometry, an altitude of a triangle is a line segment through a given vertex and perpendicular to a line containing the side or edge opposite the apex. This (finite) edge and (infinite) line extension are called, respectively, the base and extended base of the altitude. The point at the intersection of the extended base and the altitude is called the foot of the altitude. The length of the altitude, often simply called "the altitude" or "height", symbol h, is the distance between the foot and the apex. The process of drawing the altitude from a vertex to the foot is known as dropping the altitude at that vertex. It is a special case of orthogonal projection.
The orthocenter of a triangle, usually denoted by H, is the point where the three altitudes intersect. The orthocenter lies inside the triangle if and only if the triangle is acute. For a right triangle, the orthocenter coincides with the vertex at the right angle.
In geometry, the incircle or inscribed circle of a triangle is the largest circle that can be contained in the triangle; it touches the three sides. The center of the incircle is a triangle center called the triangle's incenter.
An equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides have the same length, and all three angles are equal. Because of these properties, the equilateral triangle is a regular polygon, occasionally known as the regular triangle. It is the special case of an isosceles triangle by modern definition, creating more special properties.
In geometry, the Euler line, named after Leonhard Euler, is a line determined from any triangle that is not equilateral. It is a central line of the triangle, and it passes through several important points determined from the triangle, including the orthocenter, the circumcenter, the centroid, the Exeter point and the center of the nine-point circle of the triangle.
In geometry, an isosceles triangle is a triangle that has two sides of equal length. Sometimes it is specified as having exactly two sides of equal length, and sometimes as having at least two sides of equal length, the latter version thus including the equilateral triangle as a special case. Examples of isosceles triangles include the isosceles right triangle, the golden triangle, and the faces of bipyramids and certain Catalan solids.
In geometry, the incenter of a triangle is a triangle center, a point defined for any triangle in a way that is independent of the triangle's placement or scale. The incenter may be equivalently defined as the point where the internal angle bisectors of the triangle cross, as the point equidistant from the triangle's sides, as the junction point of the medial axis and innermost point of the grassfire transform of the triangle, and as the center point of the inscribed circle of the triangle.
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adjacent sides. It is the only regular polygon whose internal angle, central angle, and external angle are all equal (90°). A square with vertices ABCD would be denoted ABCD.
A special right triangle is a right triangle with some regular feature that makes calculations on the triangle easier, or for which simple formulas exist. For example, a right triangle may have angles that form simple relationships, such as 45°–45°–90°. This is called an "angle-based" right triangle. A "side-based" right triangle is one in which the lengths of the sides form ratios of whole numbers, such as 3 : 4 : 5, or of other special numbers such as the golden ratio. Knowing the relationships of the angles or ratios of sides of these special right triangles allows one to quickly calculate various lengths in geometric problems without resorting to more advanced methods.
In Euclidean geometry, the Fermat point of a triangle, also called the Torricelli point or Fermat–Torricelli point, is a point such that the sum of the three distances from each of the three vertices of the triangle to the point is the smallest possible or, equivalently, the geometric median of the three vertices. It is so named because this problem was first raised by Fermat in a private letter to Evangelista Torricelli, who solved it.
The inscribed square problem, also known as the square peg problem or the Toeplitz' conjecture, is an unsolved question in geometry: Does every plane simple closed curve contain all four vertices of some square? This is true if the curve is convex or piecewise smooth and in other special cases. The problem was proposed by Otto Toeplitz in 1911. Some early positive results were obtained by Arnold Emch and Lev Schnirelmann. The general case remains open.
Giovanni Francesco Fagnano dei Toschi was an Italian churchman and mathematician, the son of Giulio Carlo de' Toschi di Fagnano, also a mathematician.
In geometry, the incenter–excenter lemma is the theorem that the line segment between the incenter and any excenter of a triangle, or between two excenters, is the diameter of a circle also passing through two triangle vertices with its center on the circumcircle. This theorem is best known in Russia, where it is called the trillium theorem or trident lemma, based on the geometric figure's resemblance to a trillium flower or trident; these names have sometimes also been adopted in English.
In mathematics, the Schwarz lantern is a polyhedral approximation to a cylinder, used as a pathological example of the difficulty of defining the area of a smooth (curved) surface as the limit of the areas of polyhedra. It is formed by stacked rings of isosceles triangles, arranged within each ring in the same pattern as an antiprism. The resulting shape can be folded from paper, and is named after mathematician Hermann Schwarz and for its resemblance to a cylindrical paper lantern. It is also known as Schwarz's boot, Schwarz's polyhedron, or the Chinese lantern.
