Solved cryptogram
Cutting an arbitrary angle into three equal parts with compass and straightedge is impossible.
Mathematics Facts, sourced to Wolfram MathWorld.
Or go to the puzzle’s own page first.
What it means
The Greeks left this open and amateurs still send in solutions. Wantzel closed it in 1836 by translating the tools into algebra: a compass and a straightedge can construct only lengths reachable by square roots, and trisecting sixty degrees requires solving a cubic that has no such solution. Bisecting an angle is easy, and trisecting is not, and the difference is not one of cleverness.
The claim comes from Wolfram MathWorld.
- SourceWolfram MathWorld
- CollectionMathematics Facts
- Difficultymedium
- Length80 letters, 20 unique
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