geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...

, the orthocentroidal circle of a non-equilateral

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three Edge (geometry), edges and three Vertex (geometry), vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, an ...

is the circle that has the triangle's

orthocenter In geometry, an altitude of a triangle is a line segment through a vertex and perpendicular to (i.e., forming a right angle with) a line containing the base (the side opposite the vertex). This line containing the opposite side is called the '' ...

and

centroid In mathematics and physics, the centroid, also known as geometric center or center of figure, of a plane figure or solid figure is the arithmetic mean position of all the points in the surface of the figure. The same definition extends to any ob ...

at opposite ends of its

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for ...

. This diameter also contains the triangle's

nine-point center In geometry, the nine-point center is a triangle center, a point defined from a given triangle in a way that does not depend on the placement or scale of the triangle. It is so called because it is the center of the nine-point circle, a circle t ...

and is a subset of the

Euler line In geometry, the Euler line, named after Leonhard Euler (), is a line determined from any triangle that is not equilateral. It is a central line of the triangle, and it passes through several important points determined from the triangle, inclu ...

, which also contains the

circumcenter In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

outside the orthocentroidal circle. Andrew Guinand showed in 1984 that the triangle's

incenter In geometry, the incenter of a triangle is a triangle center, a point defined for any triangle in a way that is independent of the triangle's placement or scale. The incenter may be equivalently defined as the point where the internal angle bisec ...

must lie in the interior of the orthocentroidal circle, but not coinciding with the nine-point center; that is, it must fall in the open orthocentroidal disk punctured at the nine-point center... . The incenter could be any such point, depending on the specific triangle having that particular orthocentroidal disk. Furthermore, the

Fermat point In Euclidean geometry, the Fermat point of a triangle, also called the Torricelli point or Fermat–Torricelli point, is a point such that the sum of the three distances from each of the three vertices of the triangle to the point is the smallest ...

, the

Gergonne point 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. ...

, and the

symmedian point In geometry, symmedians are three particular lines associated with every triangle. They are constructed by taking a median of the triangle (a line connecting a vertex with the midpoint of the opposite side), and reflecting the line over the co ...

are in the open orthocentroidal disk punctured at its own center (and could be at any point therein), while the second Fermat point and

Feuerbach point In the geometry of triangles, the incircle and nine-point circle of a triangle are internally tangent to each other at the Feuerbach point of the triangle. The Feuerbach point is a triangle center, meaning that its definition does not depend on th ...

are in the exterior of the orthocentroidal circle. The set of potential locations of one or the other of the

Brocard points In geometry, Brocard points are special points within a triangle. They are named after Henri Brocard (1845–1922), a French mathematician. Definition In a triangle ''ABC'' with sides ''a'', ''b'', and ''c'', where the vertices are labeled '' ...

is also the open orthocentroidal disk.. The square of the diameter of the orthocentroidal circle isAltshiller-Court, Nathan, ''College Geometry'', Dover Publications, 2007 (orig. Barnes & Noble 1952).

D^2-\tfrac(a^2+b^2+c^2),

where ''a, b,'' and ''c'' are the triangle's side lengths and ''D'' is the diameter of its

circumcircle In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

References

{{commonscat, Orthocentroidal circle Circles defined for a triangle