The first proof that this number is irrational is believed to have been produced by Hippasus, a student of Pythagoras, but it was thrown overboard by the Pythagoreans. Also known as Pythagoras' constant, it is the geometric mean of one-half and four. It is also equal to the secant of forty-five degrees, which means it is the length of the hypotenus
The first proof that this number is irrational is believed to have been produced by Hippasus, a student of Pythagoras, but it was thrown overboard by the Pythagoreans. Also known as Pythagoras' constant, it is the geometric mean of one-half and four. It is also equal to the secant of forty-five degrees, which means it is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose two legs each measure one unit. For 10 points, identify this number, approximately equal to 1.414, and the only solution to the equation "x squared minus two equals zero."
The first proof that this number is irrational is believed to have been produced by Hippasus, a student of Pythagoras, but it was thrown overboard by the Pythagoreans.
square {root} of {2} [or {radical} 2]