In geometry, Monsky's theorem states that it is not possible to dissect a square into an odd number of triangles of equal area. [1] In other words, a square does not have an odd equidissection.
The problem was posed by Fred Richman in the American Mathematical Monthly in 1965 and was proved by Paul Monsky in 1970. [2] [3] [4]
Monsky's proof combines combinatorial and algebraic techniques and in outline is as follows:
By Monsky's theorem, it is necessary to have triangles with different areas to dissect a square into an odd number of triangles. Lower bounds for the area differences that must occur to dissect a square into an odd numbers of triangles and the optimal dissections have been studied. [6] [7] [8]
The theorem can be generalized to higher dimensions: an n-dimensional hypercube can only be divided into simplices of equal volume if the number of simplices is a multiple of n!. [2]
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