Euclidean geometry Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to ancient Greek mathematics, Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry: the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements''. Euclid's approach consists in assuming a small ...

, a splitter is a

line segment In geometry, a line segment is a part of a straight line that is bounded by two distinct end points, and contains every point on the line that is between its endpoints. The length of a line segment is given by the Euclidean distance between ...

through one of the vertices of a

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 ...

(that is, a

cevian In geometry, a cevian is a line that intersects both a triangle's vertex, and also the side that is opposite to that vertex. Medians and angle bisectors are special cases of cevians. The name "cevian" comes from the Italian mathematician Giovann ...

) that bisects the perimeter of the triangle. They are not to be confused with cleavers, which also bisect the perimeter but instead emanate from the

midpoint In geometry, the midpoint is the middle point of a line segment. It is equidistant from both endpoints, and it is the centroid both of the segment and of the endpoints. It bisects the segment. Formula The midpoint of a segment in ''n''-dimens ...

of one of the triangle's sides.

Properties

The opposite endpoint of a splitter to the chosen triangle vertex lies at the point on the triangle's side where one of the

excircle 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. ...

s of the triangle is tangent to that side. This point is also called a splitting point of the triangle. It is additionally a vertex of the

extouch triangle In Euclidean geometry, the extouch triangle of a triangle is formed by joining the points at which the three excircles touch the triangle. Coordinates The vertices of the extouch triangle are given in trilinear coordinates by: :\begin T_A &= 0 ...

and one of the points where the

Mandart inellipse In geometry, the Mandart inellipse of a triangle is an ellipse inscribed within the triangle, tangent to its sides at the contact points of its excircles (which are also the vertices of the extouch triangle and the endpoints of the splitters). ...

is tangent to the triangle side. The three splitters

concur In Western jurisprudence, concurrence (also contemporaneity or simultaneity) is the apparent need to prove the simultaneous occurrence of both ("guilty action") and ("guilty mind"), to constitute a crime; except in crimes of strict liability ...

at the

Nagel point In geometry, the Nagel point (named for Christian Heinrich von Nagel) is a triangle center, one of the points associated with a given triangle whose definition does not depend on the placement or scale of the triangle. It is the point of concur ...

of the triangle, which is also called its splitting center.

Generalization

Some authors have used the term "splitter" in a more general sense, for any line segment that bisects the perimeter of the triangle. Other line segments of this type include the cleavers, which are perimeter-bisecting segments that pass through the midpoint of a triangle side, and the equalizers, segments that bisect both the area and perimeter of a triangle.

References

External links

*{{mathworld, id=Splitter, title=Splitter, mode=cs2 Straight lines defined for a triangle