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Concept
Square root
Summary
In mathematics, a square root of a number x is a number y such that ; in other words, a number y whose square (the result of multiplying the number by itself, or ) is x. For example, 4 and −4 are square roots of 16 because .
Every nonnegative real number x has a unique nonnegative square root, called the principal square root, which is denoted by where the symbol "" is called the radical sign or radix. For example, to express the fact that the principal square root of 9 is 3, we write . The term (or number) whose square root is being considered is known as the radicand. The radicand is the number or expression underneath the radical sign, in this case, 9. For non-negative x, the principal square root can also be written in exponent notation, as .
Every positive number x has two square roots: (which is positive) and (which is negative). The two roots can be written more concisely using the ± sign as . Although the principal square root of a positive number is only one of its two square roots, the designation "the square root" is often used to refer to the principal square root.
Square roots of negative numbers can be discussed within the framework of complex numbers. More generally, square roots can be considered in any context in which a notion of the "square" of a mathematical object is defined. These include function spaces and square matrices, among other mathematical structures.
The Yale Babylonian Collection clay tablet YBC 7289 was created between 1800 BC and 1600 BC, showing and respectively as 1;24,51,10 and 0;42,25,35 base 60 numbers on a square crossed by two diagonals. (1;24,51,10) base 60 corresponds to 1.41421296, which is correct to 5 decimal points (1.41421356...).
The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus is a copy from 1650 BC of an earlier Berlin Papyrus and other texts - possibly the Kahun Papyrus - that shows how the Egyptians extracted square roots by an inverse proportion method.
In Ancient India, the knowledge of theoretical and applied aspects of square and square root was at least as old as the Sulba Sutras, dated around 800–500 BC (possibly much earlier).
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