Albert1
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The discussion focuses on the constructibility of angles using a ruler and compass, specifically addressing the angle trisection problem. Participants confirm that an angle of 24 degrees can be constructed from a 72-degree angle, which is derived from the constructible regular pentagon. The discussion references the historical context of angle trisection attributed to Hippocrates, emphasizing the mathematical principles behind constructibility and the limitations of certain angles, such as 20 degrees.
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your solution is also very nice!anemone said:I'm thinking perhaps you have another elegant solution at hand but I'm going to post my "weak" solution here nevertheless:
First we let $\angle AED=\alpha$, and $DE=2k,\,AB=k$.
Applying the Sine Rule on both the triangles $AED$ and $ABE$ we see that
$\dfrac{2k}{\sin 90^{\circ}}=\dfrac{AE}{\sin (90-\alpha)^{\circ}}$ and $\dfrac{k}{\sin \alpha}=\dfrac{AE}{\sin (\alpha-18)^{\circ}}$
Dividing the first by the second equation yields
$\begin{align*}\sin (\alpha-18)^{\circ}&=2\sin \alpha \sin (90-\alpha)^{\circ}\\&=2\sin \alpha \cos \alpha\\&=\sin 2\alpha\end{align*}$
Since $0<2\alpha<180^{\circ}$, we must alter the expression inside the sine function of $\sin (\alpha-18)^{\circ}$ such that we have
$\sin (180-(\alpha-18))^{\circ}=\sin 2\alpha$
Solving it for $\alpha$ we obtain $\alpha=66^{\circ}$.
Albert said:
yes it is very interestingjohng said:Albert.
I found your parallelogram very interesting. You may well have observed this, but here is something. If angle ABC in the parallelogram is "arbitrary" $$\theta$$, the parallelogram is constructible with ruler and compass iff $${\theta\over 3}$$ is constructible. Shown is an angle of 60 degrees. Of course, a 20 degree angle is not constructible.https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/3336
johngjohng said:Albert,
Years ago I taught constructibility of numbers from an algebraic standpoint (degree of an extension field). So I remembered cos(20 degree) is not constructible. For 24 degrees:
First, the regular pentagon is constructible and hence an angle of 72. So 3=(72-(45+30)) is constructible. Thus 24 degrees is constructible by constructing 3 degree angles 8 times.
I surfed a little and found the 2500 year old trisection method (due to Hippocrates?) -- Angle Trisection by Hippocrates This is really just a variation of your parallelogram.