The surd simplifier only reduces a single square root. It was a quick hack to help someone with their homework one night I was chatting on IRC.
I am surprised how many hits it gets in Google each month.
The algorithm is very primitive, it just does a trial division by perfect squares up to the root of number to be simplified. Perfect square factors are factored out and printed, then the algorithm applied recursively until either the number is factored completely into perfect squares or only an irrational is left. It does not factorise the radical left into smaller ones (prime decomposition), but it would not be very difficult to extend it do that.
Regards,
Alan
24th May 2008 06:00
asassas wrote ...
You got some great stuff on this website, how do you use the surd simplifier, you can only imput one square root symbol.
24th May 2008 19:26
Alan Yates wrote...
Zaemnos,
Thanks. :)
The surd simplifier only reduces a single square root. It was a quick hack to help someone with their homework one night I was chatting on IRC.
I am surprised how many hits it gets in Google each month.
The algorithm is very primitive, it just does a trial division by perfect squares up to the root of number to be simplified. Perfect square factors are factored out and printed, then the algorithm applied recursively until either the number is factored completely into perfect squares or only an irrational is left. It does not factorise the radical left into smaller ones (prime decomposition), but it would not be very difficult to extend it do that.
Regards,
Alan