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Concept
Silver ratio
Summary
In mathematics, two quantities are in the silver ratio (or silver mean) if the ratio of the smaller of those two quantities to the larger quantity is the same as the ratio of the larger quantity to the sum of the smaller quantity and twice the larger quantity (see below). This defines the silver ratio as an irrational mathematical constant, whose value of one plus the square root of 2 is approximately 2.4142135623. Its name is an allusion to the golden ratio; analogously to the way the golden ratio is the limiting ratio of consecutive Fibonacci numbers, the silver ratio is the limiting ratio of consecutive Pell numbers. The silver ratio is denoted by δS.
Mathematicians have studied the silver ratio since the time of the Greeks (although perhaps without giving a special name until recently) because of its connections to the square root of 2, its convergents, square triangular numbers, Pell numbers, octagons and the like.
The relation described above can be expressed algebraically:
or equivalently,
The silver ratio can also be defined by the simple continued fraction [2; 2, 2, 2, ...]:
The convergents of this continued fraction (2/1, 5/2, 12/5, 29/12, 70/29, ...) are ratios of consecutive Pell numbers. These fractions provide accurate rational approximations of the silver ratio, analogous to the approximation of the golden ratio by ratios of consecutive Fibonacci numbers.
The silver rectangle is connected to the regular octagon. If a regular octagon is partitioned into two isosceles trapezoids and a rectangle, then the rectangle is a silver rectangle with an aspect ratio of 1:δS, and the 4 sides of the trapezoids are in a ratio of 1:1:1:δS. If the edge length of a regular octagon is t, then the span of the octagon (the distance between opposite sides) is δSt, and the area of the octagon is 2δSt2.
For comparison, two quantities a, b with a > b > 0 are said to be in the golden ratio φ if,
However, they are in the silver ratio δS if,
Equivalently,
Therefore,
Multiplying by δS and rearranging gives
Using the quadratic formula, two solutions can be obtained.
Official source
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