Splash Biography
TIM RATIGAN, Princeton freshman studying Mathematics
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Major: Mathematics College/Employer: Princeton Year of Graduation: 2018 |
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Brief Biographical Sketch:
Not Available. Past Classes(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)M258: Why can't we solve big polynomials? in Splash Spring 15 (Apr. 25, 2015)
We all know the quadratic formula: if $$ax^2+bx+c=0$$, then $$x=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$$. We might not have memorized the corresponding formula for cubic polynomials, but we know it's there. The formula for quartics is a monster, but, nevertheless, there is one.
Breaking the trend, in 1823 it was proven that it is literally impossible find a general formula for any polynomial more complicated than a quartic. How? Why? Come and find out!
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