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Vamshi Jandhyala

Mathematics

Inversion in Geometry

Inversion in a circle transforms two hard problems about tangent circles into routine ones: a Pappus chain (prove that the height of the n-th circle equals 2n times its radius) and the distance between the circumscribed and inscribed circles of three mutually tangent circles of radii 1, 2, 3.

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Two worked problems illustrating the power of circle inversion. The full derivations, figures, and the closing computation giving the 241323\tfrac{24\sqrt{13}}{23} distance between the two centres are in the PDF.


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