Square root

In mathematics, a square root of a number x is a number y such that

; in other words, a number y whose square (the result of
multiplying the number by itself, or ) is x.[1] For example, 4 and −4
are square roots of 16 because .

Every nonnegative real number x has a unique nonnegative square root,

called the principal square root or simply the square root (with a definite
article, see below), which is denoted by where the symbol " " is
[2]
called the radical sign or radix. For example, to express the fact that the
Notation for the (principal)
principal square root of 9 is 3, we write . The term (or number) square root of x.
whose square root is being considered is known as the radicand. The
radicand is the number or expression underneath the radical sign, in this
case, 9. For non-negative x, the principal square root can also be written in
exponent notation, as .

Every positive number x has two square roots: (which is positive) and
(which is negative). The two roots can be written more concisely
using the ± sign as . Although the principal square root of a positive
number is only one of its two square roots, the designation "the square
root" is often used to refer to the principal square root.[3][4]

Square roots of negative numbers can be discussed within the framework

of complex numbers. More generally, square roots can be considered in
For example, √25 = 5,
any context in which a notion of the "square" of a mathematical object is
since 25 = 5 ⋅ 5, or 52 (5
defined. These include function spaces and square matrices, among other squared).
mathematical structures.

History
The Yale Babylonian Collection clay tablet YBC 7289 was created between 1800 BC and 1600 BC,
showing and respectively as 1;24,51,10 and 0;42,25,35 base 60 numbers on a square
crossed by two diagonals.[5] (1;24,51,10) base 60 corresponds to 1.41421296, which is correct to 5
decimal places (1.41421356...).

The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus is a copy from 1650 BC of an earlier Berlin Papyrus and other texts –
possibly the Kahun Papyrus – that shows how the Egyptians extracted square roots by an inverse
proportion method.[6]
 In Ancient India, the knowledge of theoretical and applied aspects
of square and square root was at least as old as the Sulba Sutras,
dated around 800–500 BC (possibly much earlier).[7] A method for
finding very good approximations to the square roots of 2 and 3
are given in the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra.[8] Apastamba who was
dated around 600 BCE has given a strikingly accurate value for
which is correct up to five decimal places as
.[9][10] [11] Aryabhata, in the Aryabhatiya
(section 2.4), has given a method for finding the square root of
numbers having many digits.
YBC 7289 clay tablet
It was known to the ancient Greeks that square roots of positive
integers that are not perfect squares are always irrational numbers:
numbers not expressible as a ratio of two integers (that is, they cannot be written exactly as , where m
and n are integers). This is the theorem Euclid X, 9, almost certainly due to Theaetetus dating back to
c. 380 BC.[12] The discovery of irrational numbers, including the particular case of the square root of 2, is
widely associated with the Pythagorean school.[13][14] Although some accounts attribute the discovery to
Hippasus, the specific contributor remains uncertain due to the scarcity of primary sources and the
secretive nature of the brotherhood.[15][16] It is exactly the length of the diagonal of a square with side
length 1.

In the Chinese mathematical work Writings on Reckoning, written between 202 BC and 186 BC during
the early Han dynasty, the square root is approximated by using an "excess and deficiency" method,
which says to "...combine the excess and deficiency as the divisor; (taking) the deficiency numerator
multiplied by the excess denominator and the excess numerator times the deficiency denominator,
combine them as the dividend."[17]

A symbol for square roots, written as an elaborate R, was invented by Regiomontanus (1436–1476). An R
was also used for radix to indicate square roots in Gerolamo Cardano's Ars Magna.[18]

According to historian of mathematics D.E. Smith, Aryabhata's method for finding the square root was
first introduced in Europe by Cataneo—in 1546.

According to Jeffrey A. Oaks, Arabs used the letter jīm/ĝīm (‫)ج‬, the first letter of the word "‫"جذر‬
(variously transliterated as jaḏr, jiḏr, ǧaḏr or ǧiḏr, "root"), placed in its initial form (‫ )ﺟ‬over a number
to indicate its square root. The letter jīm resembles the present square root shape. Its usage goes as far as
the end of the twelfth century in the works of the Moroccan mathematician Ibn al-Yasamin.[19]

The symbol "√" for the square root was first used in print in 1525, in Christoph Rudolff's Coss.[20]

Properties and uses

The principal square root function (usually just referred to as the "square root function") is a
function that maps the set of nonnegative real numbers onto itself. In geometrical terms, the square root
function maps the area of a square to its side length.
The square root of x is rational if and
only if x is a rational number that can
be represented as a ratio of two perfect
squares. (See square root of 2 for
proofs that this is an irrational
number, and quadratic irrational for a
proof for all non-square natural
numbers.) The square root function
maps rational numbers into algebraic
numbers, the latter being a superset of
the rational numbers). The graph of the function f(x) = √x, made up of half a parabola
with a vertical directrix
For all real numbers x,

(see absolute value).

For all nonnegative real numbers x and y,

and

The square root function is continuous for all nonnegative x, and differentiable for all positive x. If f
denotes the square root function, whose derivative is given by:

The Taylor series of about x = 0 converges for |x| ≤ 1, and is given by

The square root of a nonnegative number is used in the definition of Euclidean norm (and distance), as
well as in generalizations such as Hilbert spaces. It defines an important concept of standard deviation
used in probability theory and statistics. It has a major use in the formula for solutions of a quadratic
equation. Quadratic fields and rings of quadratic integers, which are based on square roots, are important
in algebra and have uses in geometry. Square roots frequently appear in mathematical formulas
elsewhere, as well as in many physical laws.

Square roots of positive integers

A positive number has two square roots, one positive, and one negative, which are opposite to each other.
When talking of the square root of a positive integer, it is usually the positive square root that is meant.
The square roots of an integer are algebraic integers—more specifically quadratic integers.

The square root of a positive integer is the product of the roots of its prime factors, because the square
root of a product is the product of the square roots of the factors. Since only roots of those
primes having an odd power in the factorization are necessary. More precisely, the square root of a prime
factorization is

As decimal expansions
The square roots of the perfect squares (e.g., 0, 1, 4, 9, 16) are integers. In all other cases, the square roots
of positive integers are irrational numbers, and hence have non-repeating decimals in their decimal
representations. Decimal approximations of the square roots of the first few natural numbers are given in
the following table.

n truncated to 50 decimal places

0 0
1 1

2 1.4142135623 7309504880 1688724209 6980785696 7187537694

3 1.7320508075 6887729352 7446341505 8723669428 0525381038

4 2

5 2.2360679774 9978969640 9173668731 2762354406 1835961152

6 2.4494897427 8317809819 7284074705 8913919659 4748065667

7 2.6457513110 6459059050 1615753639 2604257102 5918308245

8 2.8284271247 4619009760 3377448419 3961571393 4375075389

9 3
10 3.1622776601 6837933199 8893544432 7185337195 5513932521

As expansions in other numeral systems

As with before, the square roots of the perfect squares (e.g., 0, 1, 4, 9, 16) are integers. In all other cases,
the square roots of positive integers are irrational numbers, and therefore have non-repeating digits in any
standard positional notation system.

The square roots of small integers are used in both the SHA-1 and SHA-2 hash function designs to
provide nothing up my sleeve numbers.

As periodic continued fractions

A result from the study of irrational numbers as simple continued fractions was obtained by Joseph Louis
Lagrange c. 1780. Lagrange found that the representation of the square root of any non-square positive
integer as a continued fraction is periodic. That is, a certain pattern of partial denominators repeats
indefinitely in the continued fraction. In a sense these square roots are the very simplest irrational
numbers, because they can be represented with a simple repeating pattern of integers.

= [1; 2, 2, ...]
= [1; 1, 2, 1, 2, ...]
= [2]
= [2; 4, 4, ...]
= [2; 2, 4, 2, 4, ...]
= [2; 1, 1, 1, 4, 1, 1, 1, 4, ...]
= [2; 1, 4, 1, 4, ...]
= [3]
= [3; 6, 6, ...]
= [3; 3, 6, 3, 6, ...]
= [3; 2, 6, 2, 6, ...]
= [3; 1, 1, 1, 1, 6, 1, 1, 1, 1, 6, ...]
= [3; 1, 2, 1, 6, 1, 2, 1, 6, ...]
= [3; 1, 6, 1, 6, ...]
= [4]
= [4; 8, 8, ...]
= [4; 4, 8, 4, 8, ...]
= [4; 2, 1, 3, 1, 2, 8, 2, 1, 3, 1, 2, 8, ...]
= [4; 2, 8, 2, 8, ...]
The square bracket notation used above is a short form for a continued fraction. Written in the more
suggestive algebraic form, the simple continued fraction for the square root of 11, [3; 3, 6, 3, 6, ...], looks
like this:

where the two-digit pattern {3, 6} repeats over and over again in the partial denominators. Since
11 = 32 + 2, the above is also identical to the following generalized continued fractions:
Computation
Square roots of positive numbers are not in general rational numbers, and so cannot be written as a
terminating or recurring decimal expression. Therefore in general any attempt to compute a square root
expressed in decimal form can only yield an approximation, though a sequence of increasingly accurate
approximations can be obtained.

Most pocket calculators have a square root key. Computer spreadsheets and other software are also
frequently used to calculate square roots. Pocket calculators typically implement efficient routines, such
as the Newton's method (frequently with an initial guess of 1), to compute the square root of a positive
real number.[21][22] When computing square roots with logarithm tables or slide rules, one can exploit the
identities

where ln and log10 are the natural and base-10 logarithms.

By trial-and-error,[23] one can square an estimate for and raise or lower the estimate until it agrees to
sufficient accuracy. For this technique it is prudent to use the identity

as it allows one to adjust the estimate x by some amount c and measure the square of the adjustment in
terms of the original estimate and its square.

The most common iterative method of square root calculation by hand is known as the "Babylonian
method" or "Heron's method" after the first-century Greek philosopher Heron of Alexandria, who first
described it.[24] The method uses the same iterative scheme as the Newton–Raphson method yields when
applied to the function y = f(x) = x2 − a, using the fact that its slope at any point is
dy/dx = f ′(x) = 2x, but predates it by many centuries.[25] The algorithm is to repeat a simple calculation
that results in a number closer to the actual square root each time it is repeated with its result as the new
input. The motivation is that if x is an overestimate to the square root of a nonnegative real number a
then a/x will be an underestimate and so the average of these two numbers is a better approximation than
either of them. However, the inequality of arithmetic and geometric means shows this average is always
an overestimate of the square root (as noted below), and so it can serve as a new overestimate with which
to repeat the process, which converges as a consequence of the successive overestimates and
underestimates being closer to each other after each iteration. To find x:
 1. Start with an arbitrary positive start value x. The closer to the square root of a, the fewer the
iterations that will be needed to achieve the desired precision.
2. Replace x by the average (x + a/x) / 2 between x and a/x.
3. Repeat from step 2, using this average as the new value of x.
That is, if an arbitrary guess for is x0, and xn + 1 = (xn + a/xn) / 2, then each xn is an
approximation of which is better for large n than for small n. If a is positive, the convergence is
quadratic, which means that in approaching the limit, the number of correct digits roughly doubles in
each next iteration. If a = 0, the convergence is only linear; however, so in this case no iteration
is needed.

Using the identity

the computation of the square root of a positive number can be reduced to that of a number in the range
[1, 4). This simplifies finding a start value for the iterative method that is close to the square root, for
which a polynomial or piecewise-linear approximation can be used.

The time complexity for computing a square root with n digits of precision is equivalent to that of
multiplying two n-digit numbers.

Another useful method for calculating the square root is the shifting nth root algorithm, applied for
n = 2.

The name of the square root function varies from programming language to programming language, with
sqrt[26] (often pronounced "squirt"[27]) being common, used in C and derived languages such as C++,
JavaScript, PHP, and Python.

Square roots of negative and complex numbers

First leaf of the complex square Second leaf of the complex

Using the Riemann surface of
root square root
the square root, it is shown how
the two leaves fit together
The square of any positive or negative number is positive, and the square of 0 is 0. Therefore, no negative
number can have a real square root. However, it is possible to work with a more inclusive set of numbers,
called the complex numbers, that does contain solutions to the square root of a negative number. This is
done by introducing a new number, denoted by i (sometimes by j, especially in the context of electricity
where i traditionally represents electric current) and called the imaginary unit, which is defined such that
i2 = −1. Using this notation, we can think of i as the square root of −1, but we also have
(−i)2 = i2 = −1 and so −i is also a square root of −1. By convention, the principal square root of −1 is i,
or more generally, if x is any nonnegative number, then the principal square root of −x is

The right side (as well as its negative) is indeed a square root of −x, since

For every non-zero complex number z there exist precisely two numbers w such that w2 = z: the
principal square root of z (defined below), and its negative.

Principal square root of a complex number

To find a definition for the square root that allows us to
consistently choose a single value, called the principal value,
we start by observing that any complex number can
be viewed as a point in the plane, expressed using
Cartesian coordinates. The same point may be reinterpreted
using polar coordinates as the pair where is the
distance of the point from the origin, and is the angle that
the line from the origin to the point makes with the positive
real ( ) axis. In complex analysis, the location of this point is
conventionally written If

then the principal square root of is defined to be the

following:

The principal square root function is thus defined using the Geometric representation of the 2nd to
6th roots of a complex number z, in polar
non-positive real axis as a branch cut. If is a non-negative
form reiφ where r = |z | and φ = arg z. If
real number (which happens if and only if ) then the
z is real, φ = 0 or π. Principal roots are
principal square root of is in other words, shown in black.
the principal square root of a non-negative real number is just
the usual non-negative square root. It is important that
because if, for example, (so ) then the principal square root is

but using would instead produce the other square root

The principal square root function is holomorphic everywhere except on the set of non-positive real
numbers (on strictly negative reals it is not even continuous). The above Taylor series for
remains valid for complex numbers with

The above can also be expressed in terms of trigonometric functions:

Algebraic formula
When the number is expressed using its real and imaginary parts,
the following formula can be used for the principal square
root:[28][29]

The square roots of i

where sgn(y) = 1 if y ≥ 0 and sgn(y) = −1 otherwise.[30] In particular, the imaginary parts of the
original number and the principal value of its square root have the same sign. The real part of the
principal value of the square root is always nonnegative.

For example, the principal square roots of ±i are given by:

Notes
In the following, the complex z and w may be expressed as:

where and .

Because of the discontinuous nature of the square root function in the complex plane, the following laws
are not true in general.
 Counterexample for the principal square root: z = −1 and w = −1
This equality is valid only when

Counterexample for the principal square root: w = 1 and z = −1

This equality is valid only when

Counterexample for the principal square root: z = −1)

This equality is valid only when
A similar problem appears with other complex functions with branch cuts, e.g., the complex logarithm
and the relations logz + logw = log(zw) or log(z*) = log(z)* which are not true in general.

Wrongly assuming one of these laws underlies several faulty "proofs", for instance the following one
showing that −1 = 1:

The third equality cannot be justified (see invalid

[31]: Chapter VI, Section I, Subsection 2 The fallacy that +1 = -1
proof). It can be made to hold by changing the
meaning of √ so that this no longer represents the principal square root (see above) but selects a branch
for the square root that contains The left-hand side becomes either

if the branch includes +i or

if the branch includes −i, while the right-hand side becomes

where the last equality, is a consequence of the choice of branch in the redefinition of √.

nth roots and polynomial roots

The definition of a square root of as a number such that has been generalized in the following
way.

A cube root of is a number such that ; it is denoted

If n is an integer greater than two, a n-th root of is a number such that ; it is denoted
Given any polynomial p, a root of p is a number y such that p(y) = 0. For example, the nth roots of x
are the roots of the polynomial (in y)

Abel–Ruffini theorem states that, in general, the roots of a polynomial of degree five or higher cannot be
expressed in terms of nth roots.

Square roots of matrices and operators

If A is a positive-definite matrix or operator, then there exists precisely one positive definite matrix or
operator B with B2 = A; we then define A1/2 = B. In general matrices may have multiple square roots or
even an infinitude of them. For example, the 2 × 2 identity matrix has an infinity of square roots,[32]
though only one of them is positive definite.

In integral domains, including fields

Each element of an integral domain has no more than 2 square roots. The difference of two squares
identity u2 − v2 = (u − v)(u + v) is proved using the commutativity of multiplication. If u and v are
square roots of the same element, then u2 − v2 = 0. Because there are no zero divisors this implies
u = v or u + v = 0, where the latter means that two roots are additive inverses of each other. In other
words if an element a square root u of an element a exists, then the only square roots of a are u and −u.
The only square root of 0 in an integral domain is 0 itself.

In a field of characteristic 2, an element either has one square root or does not have any at all, because
each element is its own additive inverse, so that −u = u. If the field is finite of characteristic 2 then every
element has a unique square root. In a field of any other characteristic, any non-zero element either has
two square roots, as explained above, or does not have any.

Given an odd prime number p, let q = pe for some positive integer e. A non-zero element of the field Fq
with q elements is a quadratic residue if it has a square root in Fq. Otherwise, it is a quadratic non-
residue. There are (q − 1)/2 quadratic residues and (q − 1)/2 quadratic non-residues; zero is not
counted in either class. The quadratic residues form a group under multiplication. The properties of
quadratic residues are widely used in number theory.

In rings in general
Unlike in an integral domain, a square root in an arbitrary (unital) ring need not be unique up to sign. For
example, in the ring of integers modulo 8 (which is commutative, but has zero divisors), the
element 1 has four distinct square roots: ±1 and ±3.

Another example is provided by the ring of quaternions which has no zero divisors, but is not
commutative. Here, the element −1 has infinitely many square roots, including ±i, ±j, and ±k. In fact, the
set of square roots of −1 is exactly
A square root of 0 is either 0 or a zero divisor. Thus in rings where zero divisors do not exist, it is
uniquely 0. However, rings with zero divisors may have multiple square roots of 0. For example, in
any multiple of n is a square root of 0.

Geometric construction of the square root

The square root of a positive number is usually defined as the side
length of a square with the area equal to the given number. But the
square shape is not necessary for it: if one of two similar planar
Euclidean objects has the area a times greater than another, then
the ratio of their linear sizes is .

A square root can be constructed with a compass and straightedge.

In his Elements, Euclid (fl. 300 BC) gave the construction of the Constructing the length ,
geometric mean of two quantities in two different places: given the and the unit length
Proposition II.14 (http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/
bookII/propII14.html) and Proposition VI.13 (http://aleph0.clarku.
edu/~djoyce/java/elements/bookVI/propVI13.html). Since the
geometric mean of a and b is , one can construct simply
by taking b = 1.

The construction is also given by Descartes in his La Géométrie,

see figure 2 on page 2 (http://historical.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/
cul.math/docviewer?did=00570001&seq=12&frames=0&view=5
0). However, Descartes made no claim to originality and his
audience would have been quite familiar with Euclid. The Spiral of Theodorus up to the
triangle with a hypotenuse of √17
Euclid's second proof in Book VI depends on the theory of similar
triangles. Let AHB be a line segment of length a + b with
AH = a and HB = b. Construct the circle with AB as diameter
and let C be one of the two intersections of the perpendicular
chord at H with the circle and denote the length CH as h. Then,
using Thales' theorem and, as in the proof of Pythagoras' theorem
by similar triangles, triangle AHC is similar to triangle CHB (as
indeed both are to triangle ACB, though we don't need that, but it
is the essence of the proof of Pythagoras' theorem) so that AH:CH
is as HC:HB, i.e. a/h = h/b, from which we conclude by cross- Jay Hambidge's construction of
multiplication that h2 = ab, and finally that . When successive square roots using root
marking the midpoint O of the line segment AB and drawing the rectangles
radius OC of length (a + b)/2, then clearly OC > CH, i.e.
(with equality if and only if a = b), which is the
arithmetic–geometric mean inequality for two variables and, as noted above, is the basis of the Ancient
Greek understanding of "Heron's method".
Another method of geometric construction uses right triangles and induction: can be constructed, and
once has been constructed, the right triangle with legs 1 and has a hypotenuse of .
Constructing successive square roots in this manner yields the Spiral of Theodorus depicted above.

See also
Apotome (mathematics)
Cube root
Functional square root
Integer square root
Nested radical
Nth root
Root of unity
Solving quadratic equations with continued fractions
Square-root sum problem
Square root principle
Quantum gate § Square root of NOT gate (√NOT)

Notes
1. Gel'fand, p. 120 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Z9z7iliyFD0C&pg=PA120) Archived (ht
tps://web.archive.org/web/20160902151740/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z9z7iliyFD
0C&pg=PA120) 2016-09-02 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Squares and Square Roots" (https://www.mathsisfun.com/square-root.html).
www.mathsisfun.com. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
3. Zill, Dennis G.; Shanahan, Patrick (2008). A First Course in Complex Analysis With
Applications (https://books.google.com/books?id=YKZqY8PCNo0C) (2nd ed.). Jones &
Bartlett Learning. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-7637-5772-4. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20
160901081936/https://books.google.com/books?id=YKZqY8PCNo0C) from the original on
2016-09-01. Extract of page 78 (https://books.google.com/books?id=YKZqY8PCNo0C&pg=
PA78) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160901091148/https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=YKZqY8PCNo0C&pg=PA78) 2016-09-01 at the Wayback Machine
4. Weisstein, Eric W. "Square Root" (https://mathworld.wolfram.com/SquareRoot.html).
mathworld.wolfram.com. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
5. "Analysis of YBC 7289" (http://www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/Euclid/ybc/analysis.html). ubc.ca.
Retrieved 19 January 2015.
6. Anglin, W.S. (1994). Mathematics: A Concise History and Philosophy. New York: Springer-
Verlag.
 7. Seidenberg, A. (1961). "The ritual origin of geometry" (https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf0032776
7). Archive for History of Exact Sciences. 1 (5): 488–527. doi:10.1007/bf00327767 (https://d
oi.org/10.1007%2Fbf00327767). ISSN 0003-9519 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0003-95
19). S2CID 119992603 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:119992603). "Seidenberg
(pp. 501-505) proposes: "It is the distinction between use and origin." [By analogy]
"KEPLER needed the ellipse to describe the paths of the planets around the sun; he did not,
however invent the ellipse, but made use of a curve that had been lying around for nearly
2000 years". In this manner Seidenberg argues: "Although the date of a manuscript or text
cannot give us the age of the practices it discloses, nonetheless the evidence is contained
in manuscripts." Seidenberg quotes Thibaut from 1875: "Regarding the time in which the
Sulvasutras may have been composed, it is impossible to give more accurate information
than we are able to give about the date of the Kalpasutras. But whatever the period may
have been during which Kalpasutras and Sulvasutras were composed in the form now
before us, we must keep in view that they only give a systematically arranged description of
sacrificial rites, which had been practiced during long preceding ages." Lastly, Seidenberg
summarizes: "In 1899, THIBAUT ventured to assign the fourth or the third centuries B.C. as
the latest possible date for the composition of the Sulvasutras (it being understood that this
refers to a codification of far older material)." "
8. Joseph, ch.8.
9. Dutta, Bibhutibhusan (1931). "On the Origin of the Hindu Terms for "Root" " (https://www.jsto
r.org/stable/2300909). The American Mathematical Monthly. 38 (7): 371–376.
doi:10.2307/2300909 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2300909). JSTOR 2300909 (https://www.j
stor.org/stable/2300909). Retrieved 30 March 2024.
10. Cynthia J. Huffman; Scott V. Thuong (2015). "Ancient Indian Rope Geometry in the
Classroom - Approximating the Square Root of 2" (https://maa.org/press/periodicals/converg
ence/ancient-indian-rope-geometry-in-the-classroom-approximating-the-square-root-of-2#:~:
text=The%20Śulba-sūtras%20of%20Āpastamba,is%20less%20than%200.0003%25!).
www.maa.org. Retrieved 30 March 2024. "Increase the measure by its third and this third by
its own fourth, less the thirty-fourth part of that fourth. This is the value with a special
quantity in excess."
11. J J O'Connor; E F Robertson (November 2020). "Apastamba" (https://mathshistory.st-andre
ws.ac.uk/Biographies/Apastamba/). www.mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk. School of
Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
12. Heath, Sir Thomas L. (1908). The Thirteen Books of The Elements, Vol. 3 (https://archive.or
g/stream/thirteenbookseu03heibgoog#page/n14/mode/1up). Cambridge University Press.
p. 3.
13. Craig Smorynski (2007). History of Mathematics: A Supplement (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=_zliInaOM8UC) (illustrated, annotated ed.). Springer Science & Business Media.
p. 49. ISBN 978-0-387-75480-2. Extract of page 49 (https://books.google.com/books?id=_zli
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External links
Algorithms, implementations, and more (http://www.azillionmonkeys.com/qed/sqroot.html) –
Paul Hsieh's square roots webpage
How to manually find a square root (http://johnkerl.org/doc/square-root.html)
AMS Featured Column, Galileo's Arithmetic by Tony Philips (http://www.ams.org/samplings/f
eature-column/fc-2013-05) – includes a section on how Galileo found square roots

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