Physical model for Completing the Cube?

symbolipoint
Homework Helper
Education Advisor
Gold Member
Messages
7,545
Reaction score
1,996
Completing the Square for finding the general solution for a quadratic equation by using a two dimensional drawing is easy. Since we can not so easily draw a three dimensional figure to help in finding a solution to a cubic equation, has any clever mathematician ever found a three dimensional physical model to help in deriving a solution to a general cubic equation?

I ask because, the method of producing the solution seems to rely on a bunch of new variables without showing clearly how and why it all works. So very different from understanding the quadratic equations.
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
Well we can quite easily complete the square not because of how easy it is to model physically but because of the symmetry quadratics have about their axis. Since general cubics don't have this symmetry, I would be very sceptical if any physical interpretations of solving cubics have been found.

Also to complete the cube, mustn't we be able to transform the general cubic into the form (x+a)^3+b? This cannot be done in general.
 
Mentallic said:
Also to complete the cube, mustn't we be able to transform the general cubic into the form (x+a)^3+b? This cannot be done in general.

The general cubic can be transformed into the form (x + a)3 + (x + b)3
 
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. In Dirac’s Principles of Quantum Mechanics published in 1930 he introduced a “convenient notation” he referred to as a “delta function” which he treated as a continuum analog to the discrete Kronecker delta. The Kronecker delta is simply the indexed components of the identity operator in matrix algebra Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/what-exactly-is-diracs-delta-function/ by...
Fermat's Last Theorem has long been one of the most famous mathematical problems, and is now one of the most famous theorems. It simply states that the equation $$ a^n+b^n=c^n $$ has no solutions with positive integers if ##n>2.## It was named after Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665). The problem itself stems from the book Arithmetica by Diophantus of Alexandria. It gained popularity because Fermat noted in his copy "Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et...
Thread 'Imaginary Pythagorus'
I posted this in the Lame Math thread, but it's got me thinking. Is there any validity to this? Or is it really just a mathematical trick? Naively, I see that i2 + plus 12 does equal zero2. But does this have a meaning? I know one can treat the imaginary number line as just another axis like the reals, but does that mean this does represent a triangle in the complex plane with a hypotenuse of length zero? Ibix offered a rendering of the diagram using what I assume is matrix* notation...

Similar threads

Replies
16
Views
4K
Replies
38
Views
15K
Replies
3
Views
4K
Replies
11
Views
4K
Replies
1
Views
2K
Back
Top