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Technically, it should be called the principal square root of 2, to distinguish it from the negative number with the same property. Geometrically, the square root of 2 is the length of a diagonal across a square with sides of one unit of length; this follows from the Pythagorean theorem. It was probably the first number known to be irrational. [1]
The square root of 2 was likely the first number proved irrational. [27] The golden ratio is another famous quadratic irrational number. The square roots of all natural numbers that are not perfect squares are irrational and a proof may be found in quadratic irrationals.
The proof that the square root of 2 (√ 2) is irrational (i.e. cannot be expressed as a fraction of two whole numbers) was discovered by the ancient Greeks, and is perhaps the earliest known example of a proof by infinite descent.
For example, the square root of 2 is an irrational number, but it is not a transcendental number as it is a root of the polynomial equation x 2 − 2 = 0. The golden ratio (denoted or ) is another irrational number that is not transcendental, as it is a root of the polynomial equation x 2 − x − 1 = 0.
Quadratic irrational numbers, irrational solutions of a quadratic polynomial ax 2 + bx + c with integer coefficients a, b, and c, are algebraic numbers. If the quadratic polynomial is monic (a = 1), the roots are further qualified as quadratic integers. Gaussian integers, complex numbers a + bi for which both a and b are integers, are also ...
The square root of the Gelfond–Schneider constant is the transcendental number = 1.632 526 919 438 152 844 77.... This same constant can be used to prove that "an irrational elevated to an irrational power may be rational", even without first proving its transcendence.
The roots of x²-6=0 are x=√6 and x=-√6, so that means √6 and -√6 are algebraic numbers. Try It Yourself: ... The popular prediction is that 𝛾 is irrational. Along with our previous ...
Irrational numbers can be Euclidean. A good example is the square root of 2 (an irrational number). It is simply the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs both one unit in length, and it can be constructed with a straightedge and a compass.