Why √2 is not rational

About this app

The indirect proof with tiles: 2q² = p² splits the p² square into two equal halves, odd squares always keep a middle tile, p = 2a quarters the square and q turns even, so the stamp “reduced” breaks and the same figure returns one step smaller. In Try mode, test your own fractions: even 99/70 misses by exactly one tile.

Subject: Visual proofs

More from Visual proofs

• Achilles and the Tortoise (Zeno)
• Banach–Tarski: 1 orange becomes 2
• Little Gauss
• Hilbert's Hotel

A VisuApp by heyprof: interactive, free in your browser, no sign-up. What is a VisuApp? · All apps