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The quartic is the highest order polynomial equation that can be solved by radicals in the general case (i.e., one in which the coefficients can take any value). History [ edit ]
A quartic equation arises also in the process of solving the crossed ladders problem, in which the lengths of two crossed ladders, each based against one wall and leaning against another, are given along with the height at which they cross, and the distance between the walls is to be found.
The origin of this definition lies in another method of solving quartic equations, namely Descartes' method. If you try to find the roots of P ( x ) by expressing it as a product of two monic quadratic polynomials x 2 + αx + β and x 2 – αx + γ , then
They showed that the mirror reflection point can be computed by solving an eighth degree equation in the most general case. If the camera (eye) is placed on the axis of the mirror, the degree of the equation reduces to six. [15] Alhazen's problem can also be extended to multiple refractions from a spherical ball.
A similar but more complicated method works for cubic equations, which have three resolvents and a quadratic equation (the "resolving polynomial") relating and , which one can solve by the quadratic equation, and similarly for a quartic equation (degree 4), whose resolving polynomial is a cubic, which can in turn be solved. [14]
A solution in radicals or algebraic solution is an expression of a solution of a polynomial equation that is algebraic, that is, relies only on addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, raising to integer powers, and extraction of n th roots (square roots, cube roots, etc.). A well-known example is the quadratic formula
His student Lodovico Ferrari solved the quartic polynomial; his solution was also included in Ars Magna. In this book, however, Cardano did not provide a "general formula" for the solution of a cubic equation, as he had neither complex numbers at his disposal, nor the algebraic notation to be able to describe a general cubic equation. With the ...
The cruciform curve, or cross curve is a quartic plane curve given by the equation = where a and b are two parameters determining the shape of the curve. The cruciform curve is related by a standard quadratic transformation, x ↦ 1/x, y ↦ 1/y to the ellipse a 2 x 2 + b 2 y 2 = 1, and is therefore a rational plane algebraic curve of genus zero.