57
394] ON A LOCUS IN RELATION TO THE TRIANGLE.
being satisfied, the cubic breaks
up into the line
x y z
+ - + t = 0, and the conic
f 9 h
A B G
~7 yz + — zx + y- xy = 0.
I 9 h
It is to be remarked that in general a triangle and the reciprocal triangle are
in perspective; that is, the lines joining corresponding angles meet in a point, and
the points of intersections of opposite sides lie in a line; this is the case therefore
with the triangle (x = 0, y = 0, z = 0), and the reciprocal triangle
(ax+ hy+gz = 0, lix + by +fz = 0, gx +fy + cz = 0);
and it is easy to see that the line through the points of intersection of corresponding
sides is in fact the above mentioned line % + - + ^ = 0. It is to be noticed also that
J 9 h
the coordinates of the point of intersection of the lines joining the corresponding
angles are (F, G, H). The conic
A B G
-tyz-\— zx + y- xy = 0
/ 9 h
is of course a conic passing through the angles of the triangle (x = 0, y = 0, z — 0);
it is not, what it might have been expected to be, a conic having double contact with
the Absolute (a, b, c, f, g, li\x, y, z)\
I return to the condition
1 _ 1 _ 1 _ 1 2
abc of 2 bg 2 cJi 2+ fgh ’
this can be shown to be the condition in order that the sides of the triangle
(x = 0, y = 0, z = 0), and the sides of the reciprocal triangle {ax + liy + gz = 0, hx+ by +fz = 0,
gx + fy + cz = 0) touch one and the same conic; in fact, using line coordinates, the
coordinates of the first three sides are (1, 0, 0), (0, 1, 0), (0, 0, 1) respectively, and
those of the second three sides are (a, h, g), (h, b, f), (g, f, c) respectively; the equation
of a conic touching the first three lines is
L M N
z + - + -p = 0,
ç V s
and hence making the conic touch the second three sides, we have three linear
equations from which eliminating L, M, N, we find
1
1
1
a ’
1’
9
1
1
1
h’
6’
7
1
1
i
9'
/’
c
which is the equation in question.
C. VI.
8