Incircle and excircles

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Incircle and excircles of a triangle.
  Extended sides of triangle ABC
  Incircle (incenter at I)
  Excircles (excenters at JA, JB, JC)
  Internal angle bisectors
  External angle bisectors (forming the excentral triangle)

In geometry, the incircle or inscribed circle of a triangle is the largest circle that can be contained in the triangle; it touches (is tangent to) the three sides. The center of the incircle is a triangle center called the triangle's incenter.[1]

An excircle or escribed circle[2] of the triangle is a circle lying outside the triangle, tangent to one of its sides and tangent to the extensions of the other two. Every triangle has three distinct excircles, each tangent to one of the triangle's sides.[3]

The center of the incircle, called the incenter, can be found as the intersection of the three internal angle bisectors.[3][4] The center of an excircle is the intersection of the internal bisector of one angle (at vertex A, for example) and the external bisectors of the other two. The center of this excircle is called the excenter relative to the vertex A, or the excenter of A.[3] Because the internal bisector of an angle is perpendicular to its external bisector, it follows that the center of the incircle together with the three excircle centers form an orthocentric system.[5]

Incircle and Incenter

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Suppose ABC has an incircle with radius r and center I. Let a be the length of BC, b the length of AC, and c the length of AB.

Also let TA, TB, and TC be the touchpoints where the incircle touches BC, AC, and AB.

Incenter

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The incenter is the point where the internal angle bisectors of ABC,BCA, and BAC meet.

Trilinear coordinates

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The trilinear coordinates for a point in the triangle is the ratio of all the distances to the triangle sides. Because the incenter is the same distance from all sides of the triangle, the trilinear coordinates for the incenter are[6]

 1:1:1.

Barycentric coordinates

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The barycentric coordinates for a point in a triangle give weights such that the point is the weighted average of the triangle vertex positions. Barycentric coordinates for the incenter are given by

a:b:c

where a, b, and c are the lengths of the sides of the triangle, or equivalently (using the law of sines) by

sinA:sinB:sinC

where A, B, and C are the angles at the three vertices.

Cartesian coordinates

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The Cartesian coordinates of the incenter are a weighted average of the coordinates of the three vertices using the side lengths of the triangle relative to the perimeter (that is, using the barycentric coordinates given above, normalized to sum to unity) as weights. The weights are positive so the incenter lies inside the triangle as stated above. If the three vertices are located at (xa,ya), (xb,yb), and (xc,yc), and the sides opposite these vertices have corresponding lengths a, b, and c, then the incenter is at[citation needed]

(axa+bxb+cxca+b+c,aya+byb+cyca+b+c)=a(xa,ya)+b(xb,yb)+c(xc,yc)a+b+c.

Radius

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The inradius r of the incircle in a triangle with sides of length a, b, c is given by[7]

r=(sa)(sb)(sc)s,

where s=12(a+b+c) is the semiperimeter (see Heron's formula).

The tangency points of the incircle divide the sides into segments of lengths sa from A, sb from B, and sc from C (see Tangent lines to a circle).[8]

Distances to the vertices

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Denote the incenter of ABC as I.

The distance from vertex A to the incenter I is:

AI=d(A,I)=csinB2cosC2=bsinC2cosB2.

Derivation of the formula stated above

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Use the Law of sines in the triangle IAB.

We get AIsinB2=csinAIB. We have that AIB=πA2B2=π2+C2.

It follows that AI=c sinB2cosC2.

The equality with the second expression is obtained the same way.

The distances from the incenter to the vertices combined with the lengths of the triangle sides obey the equation[9]

IAIACAAB+IBIBABBC+ICICBCCA=1.

Additionally,[10]

IAIBIC=4Rr2,

where R and r are the triangle's circumradius and inradius respectively.

Other properties

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The collection of triangle centers may be given the structure of a group under coordinate-wise multiplication of trilinear coordinates; in this group, the incenter forms the identity element.[6]

Incircle and its radius properties

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Distances between vertex and nearest touchpoints

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The distances from a vertex to the two nearest touchpoints are equal; for example:[11]

d(A,TB)=d(A,TC)=12(b+ca)=sa.

Other properties

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If the altitudes from sides of lengths a, b, and c are ha, hb, and hc, then the inradius r is one third the harmonic mean of these altitudes; that is,[12]

r=11ha+1hb+1hc.

The product of the incircle radius r and the circumcircle radius R of a triangle with sides a, b, and c is[13]

rR=abc2(a+b+c).

Some relations among the sides, incircle radius, and circumcircle radius are:[14]

ab+bc+ca=s2+(4R+r)r,a2+b2+c2=2s22(4R+r)r.

Any line through a triangle that splits both the triangle's area and its perimeter in half goes through the triangle's incenter (the center of its incircle). There are either one, two, or three of these for any given triangle.[15]

The incircle radius is no greater than one-ninth the sum of the altitudes.[16]: 289 

The squared distance from the incenter I to the circumcenter O is given by[17]: 232 

OI2=R(R2r)=abca+b+c[abc(a+bc)(ab+c)(a+b+c)1]

and the distance from the incenter to the center N of the nine point circle is[17]: 232 

IN=12(R2r)<12R.

The incenter lies in the medial triangle (whose vertices are the midpoints of the sides).[17]: 233, Lemma 1 

Relation to area of the triangle

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The radius of the incircle is related to the area of the triangle.[18] The ratio of the area of the incircle to the area of the triangle is less than or equal to π/33, with equality holding only for equilateral triangles.[19]

Suppose ABC has an incircle with radius r and center I. Let a be the length of BC, b the length of AC, and c the length of AB.

Now, the incircle is tangent to AB at some point TC, and so ATCI is right. Thus, the radius TCI is an altitude of IAB.

Therefore, IAB has base length c and height r, and so has area 12cr.

Similarly, IAC has area 12br and IBC has area 12ar.

Since these three triangles decompose ABC, we see that the area Δ ofABC is:

Δ=12(a+b+c)r=sr,

     and     r=Δs,

where Δ is the area of ABC and s=12(a+b+c) is its semiperimeter.

For an alternative formula, consider ITCA. This is a right-angled triangle with one side equal to r and the other side equal to rcotA2. The same is true for IBA. The large triangle is composed of six such triangles and the total area is:[citation needed]

Δ=r2(cotA2+cotB2+cotC2).

Gergonne triangle and point

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  Triangle ABC
  Incircle (incenter at I)
  Contact triangle TATBTC
  Lines between opposite vertices of ABC and TATBTC (concur at Gergonne point Ge)

The Gergonne triangle (of ABC) is defined by the three touchpoints of the incircle on the three sides. The touchpoint opposite A is denoted TA, etc.

This Gergonne triangle, TATBTC, is also known as the contact triangle or intouch triangle of ABC. Its area is

KT=K2r2sabc

where K, r, and s are the area, radius of the incircle, and semiperimeter of the original triangle, and a, b, and c are the side lengths of the original triangle. This is the same area as that of the extouch triangle.[20]

The three lines ATA, BTB, and CTC intersect in a single point called the Gergonne point, denoted as Ge (or triangle center X7). The Gergonne point lies in the open orthocentroidal disk punctured at its own center, and can be any point therein.[21]

The Gergonne point of a triangle has a number of properties, including that it is the symmedian point of the Gergonne triangle.[22]

Trilinear coordinates for the vertices of the intouch triangle are given by[citation needed]

TA=0:sec2B2:sec2C2TB=sec2A2:0:sec2C2TC=sec2A2:sec2B2:0.

Trilinear coordinates for the Gergonne point are given by[citation needed]

sec2A2:sec2B2:sec2C2,

or, equivalently, by the Law of Sines,

bcb+ca:cac+ab:aba+bc.

Excircles and excenters

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  Extended sides of ABC
  Incircle (incenter at I)
  Excircles (excenters at JA, JB, JC)
  Internal angle bisectors
  External angle bisectors (forming the excentral triangle)

An excircle or escribed circle[2] of the triangle is a circle lying outside the triangle, tangent to one of its sides, and tangent to the extensions of the other two. Every triangle has three distinct excircles, each tangent to one of the triangle's sides.[3]

The center of an excircle is the intersection of the internal bisector of one angle (at vertex A, for example) and the external bisectors of the other two. The center of this excircle is called the excenter relative to the vertex A, or the excenter of A.[3] Because the internal bisector of an angle is perpendicular to its external bisector, it follows that the center of the incircle together with the three excircle centers form an orthocentric system.[5]

Trilinear coordinates of excenters

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While the incenter of ABC has trilinear coordinates 1:1:1, the excenters have trilinears[citation needed]

JA=1:1:1JB=1:1:1JC=1:1:1

Exradii

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The radii of the excircles are called the exradii.

The exradius of the excircle opposite A (so touching BC, centered at JA) is[23][24]

ra=rssa=s(sb)(sc)sa, where s=12(a+b+c).

See Heron's formula.

Derivation of exradii formula

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Source:[23]

Let the excircle at side AB touch at side AC extended at G, and let this excircle's radius be rc and its center be Jc. Then JcG is an altitude of ACJc, so ACJc has area 12brc. By a similar argument, BCJc has area 12arc and ABJc has area 12crc. Thus the area Δ of triangle ABC is

Δ=12(a+bc)rc=(sc)rc.

So, by symmetry, denoting r as the radius of the incircle,

Δ=sr=(sa)ra=(sb)rb=(sc)rc.

By the Law of Cosines, we have

cosA=b2+c2a22bc

Combining this with the identity sin2A+cos2A=1, we have

sinA=a4b4c4+2a2b2+2b2c2+2a2c22bc

But Δ=12bcsinA, and so

Δ=14a4b4c4+2a2b2+2b2c2+2a2c2=14(a+b+c)(a+b+c)(ab+c)(a+bc)=s(sa)(sb)(sc),

which is Heron's formula.

Combining this with sr=Δ, we have

r2=Δ2s2=(sa)(sb)(sc)s.

Similarly, (sa)ra=Δ gives

ra2=s(sb)(sc)sara=s(sb)(sc)sa.

Other properties

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From the formulas above one can see that the excircles are always larger than the incircle and that the largest excircle is the one tangent to the longest side and the smallest excircle is tangent to the shortest side. Further, combining these formulas yields:[25]

Δ=rrarbrc.

Other excircle properties

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The circular hull of the excircles is internally tangent to each of the excircles and is thus an Apollonius circle.[26] The radius of this Apollonius circle is r2+s24r where r is the incircle radius and s is the semiperimeter of the triangle.[27]

The following relations hold among the inradius r, the circumradius R, the semiperimeter s, and the excircle radii ra, rb, rc:[14]

ra+rb+rc=4R+r,rarb+rbrc+rcra=s2,ra2+rb2+rc2=(4R+r)22s2.

The circle through the centers of the three excircles has radius 2R.[14]

If H is the orthocenter of ABC, then[14]

ra+rb+rc+r=AH+BH+CH+2R,ra2+rb2+rc2+r2=AH2+BH2+CH2+(2R)2.

Nagel triangle and Nagel point

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  Extended sides of triangle ABC
  Excircles of ABC (tangent at TA. TB, TC)
  Nagel/Extouch triangle TATBTC
  Splitters: lines connecting opposite vertices of ABC and TATBTC (concur at Nagel point N)

The Nagel triangle or extouch triangle of ABC is denoted by the vertices TA, TB, and TC that are the three points where the excircles touch the reference ABC and where TA is opposite of A, etc. This TATBTC is also known as the extouch triangle of ABC. The circumcircle of the extouch TATBTC is called the Mandart circle (cf. Mandart inellipse).

The three line segments ATA, BTB and CTC are called the splitters of the triangle; they each bisect the perimeter of the triangle,[citation needed]

AB+BTA=AC+CTA=12(AB+BC+AC).

The splitters intersect in a single point, the triangle's Nagel point Na (or triangle center X8).

Trilinear coordinates for the vertices of the extouch triangle are given by[citation needed]

TA=0:csc2B2:csc2C2TB=csc2A2:0:csc2C2TC=csc2A2:csc2B2:0

Trilinear coordinates for the Nagel point are given by[citation needed]

csc2A2:csc2B2:csc2C2,

or, equivalently, by the Law of Sines,

b+caa:c+abb:a+bcc.

Barycentric coordinates for the Nagel point are therefore

b+ca:c+ab:a+bc,

or equivalently

sa:sb:sc.

The Nagel point is the isotomic conjugate of the Gergonne point.[citation needed]

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Nine-point circle and Feuerbach point

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The nine-point circle is tangent to the incircle and excircles

In geometry, the nine-point circle is a circle that can be constructed for any given triangle. It is so named because it passes through nine significant concyclic points defined from the triangle. These nine points are:[28][29]

In 1822, Karl Feuerbach discovered that any triangle's nine-point circle is externally tangent to that triangle's three excircles and internally tangent to its incircle; this result is known as Feuerbach's theorem. He proved that:[30]

... the circle which passes through the feet of the altitudes of a triangle is tangent to all four circles which in turn are tangent to the three sides of the triangle ... (Feuerbach 1822)

The triangle center at which the incircle and the nine-point circle touch is called the Feuerbach point.

The incircle may be described as the pedal circle of the incenter. The locus of points whose pedal circles are tangent to the nine-point circle is known as the McCay cubic.

Incentral and excentral triangles

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The points of intersection of the interior angle bisectors of ABC with the segments BC, CA, and AB are the vertices of the incentral triangle. Trilinear coordinates for the vertices of the incentral triangle ABC are given by[citation needed]

A=0:1:1B=1:0:1C=1:1:0

The excentral triangle of a reference triangle has vertices at the centers of the reference triangle's excircles. Its sides are on the external angle bisectors of the reference triangle (see figure at top of page). Trilinear coordinates for the vertices of the excentral triangle ABC are given by[citation needed]

A=1:1:1B=1:1:1C=1:1:1

Equations for four circles

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Let x:y:z be a variable point in trilinear coordinates, and let u=cos2(A/2), v=cos2(B/2), w=cos2(C/2). The four circles described above are given equivalently by either of the two given equations:[31]: 210–215 

  • Incircle:u2x2+v2y2+w2z22vwyz2wuzx2uvxy=0±xcosA2±ytcosB2±zcosC2=0
  • A-excircle:u2x2+v2y2+w2z22vwyz+2wuzx+2uvxy=0±xcosA2±ytcosB2±zcosC2=0
  • B-excircle:u2x2+v2y2+w2z2+2vwyz2wuzx+2uvxy=0±xcosA2±ytcosB2±zcosC2=0
  • C-excircle:u2x2+v2y2+w2z2+2vwyz+2wuzx2uvxy=0±xcosA2±ytcosB2±zcosC2=0

Euler's theorem

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Euler's theorem states that in a triangle:

(Rr)2=d2+r2,

where R and r are the circumradius and inradius respectively, and d is the distance between the circumcenter and the incenter.

For excircles the equation is similar:

(R+rex)2=dex2+rex2,

where rex is the radius of one of the excircles, and dex is the distance between the circumcenter and that excircle's center.[32][33][34]

Generalization to other polygons

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Some (but not all) quadrilaterals have an incircle. These are called tangential quadrilaterals. Among their many properties, perhaps the most important is that their two pairs of opposite sides have equal sums. This is called the Pitot theorem.[35]

More generally, a polygon with any number of sides that has an inscribed circle (that is, one that is tangent to each side) is called a tangential polygon.

Generalization to topological triangles

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If topological triangles are considered, it is still possible to define an inscribed circle. It is no longer described as tangent to all sides, since the topological triangle might not be differentiable everywhere. Rather, it is defined as a circle whose center has the same minimal distance to each side. It has been proven that all topological triangles have an inscribed circle.[36]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Kay (1969, p. 140)
  2. ^ a b Altshiller-Court (1925, p. 74)
  3. ^ a b c d e Altshiller-Court (1925, p. 73)
  4. ^ Kay (1969, p. 117)
  5. ^ a b Johnson 1929, p. 182.
  6. ^ a b Encyclopedia of Triangle Centers Archived 2012-04-19 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 2014-10-28.
  7. ^ Kay (1969, p. 201)
  8. ^ Chu, Thomas, The Pentagon, Spring 2005, p. 45, problem 584.
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).. #84, p. 121.
  11. ^ Mathematical Gazette, July 2003, 323-324.
  12. ^ Kay (1969, p. 203)
  13. ^ Johnson 1929, p. 189, #298(d).
  14. ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Kodokostas, Dimitrios, "Triangle Equalizers", Mathematics Magazine 83, April 2010, pp. 141-146.
  16. ^ Posamentier, Alfred S., and Lehmann, Ingmar. The Secrets of Triangles, Prometheus Books, 2012.
  17. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  18. ^ Coxeter, H.S.M. "Introduction to Geometry 2nd ed. Wiley, 1961.
  19. ^ Minda, D., and Phelps, S., "Triangles, ellipses, and cubic polynomials", American Mathematical Monthly 115, October 2008, 679-689: Theorem 4.1.
  20. ^ Weisstein, Eric W. "Contact Triangle." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ContactTriangle.html
  21. ^ Christopher J. Bradley and Geoff C. Smith, "The locations of triangle centers", Forum Geometricorum 6 (2006), 57–70. http://forumgeom.fau.edu/FG2006volume6/FG200607index.html Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  23. ^ a b Altshiller-Court (1925, p. 79)
  24. ^ Kay (1969, p. 202)
  25. ^ Baker, Marcus, "A collection of formulae for the area of a plane triangle", Annals of Mathematics, part 1 in vol. 1(6), January 1885, 134-138. (See also part 2 in vol. 2(1), September 1885, 11-18.)
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  27. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  28. ^ Altshiller-Court (1925, pp. 103–110)
  29. ^ Kay (1969, pp. 18, 245)
  30. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
  31. ^ Whitworth, William Allen. Trilinear Coordinates and Other Methods of Modern Analytical Geometry of Two Dimensions, Forgotten Books, 2012 (orig. Deighton, Bell, and Co., 1866). https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/search?q=%22Trilinear+coordinates%22
  32. ^ Nelson, Roger, "Euler's triangle inequality via proof without words", Mathematics Magazine 81(1), February 2008, 58-61.
  33. ^ Johnson 1929, p. 187.
  34. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  35. ^ Josefsson (2011, See in particular pp. 65–66.)
  36. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

References

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  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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Interactive

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