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From: edp@jareth.enet.dec.com (Always mount a scratch monkey.)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: Finding roots of Tertiary and above equations?
Message-ID: <22116@shlump.nac.dec.com>
Date: 17 Apr 91 15:15:46 GMT
Sender: newsdaemon@shlump.nac.dec.com
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Lines: 16

In article <2804f002:2682.5comp.sys.handhelds;1@hpcvbbs.UUCP>,
akcs.ed@hpcvbbs.UUCP (Edwin S. Linderman) writes...

>Actually, you folks are a bit mistaken.  You CAN (Using a formula) get
>5th degree roots.  It is more than 3 pages long, typed, and there is also
>a proof that there is no 6th degree formula.

The general solution for quintic polynomials uses elliptic modular functions;
the issue of discussion was algebraic solutions -- that is, solutions using
only finite numbers of additions, subtractions, multiplication, divisions,
raising to powers, and extractions of roots.


				-- edp (Eric Postpischil)
				"Always mount a scratch monkey."
				edp@jareth.enet.dec.com