Yet another proof from the Book: the Gauss theorem on regular polygons
History and Overview
2013-09-10 v6 Commutative Algebra
Abstract
This note is purely expository. The statement of the Gauss theorem on the constructibility of regular polygons by means of compass and ruler is simple and well-known. However, its proofs given in most textbooks rely upon much unmotivated material and are far from being economic. In this note a short elementary proof of the Gauss theorem is presented. The note is accessible for students familiar with polynomials and complex numbers, and could be an interesting easy reading for professional mathematicians.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0908.2029,
title = {Yet another proof from the Book: the Gauss theorem on regular polygons},
author = {A. Skopenkov},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0908.2029},
year = {2013}
}
Comments
This paper has been withdrawn by the author because the text is contained in version 5 of arxiv:0804.4357. Cf. arXiv admin note to arxiv:0804.4357: text overlap with arXiv:0908.2029