Steiner's Porism

For two concentric circles, either there exists a closed chain of circles tangent to the given two as well as to their immediate neighbors in the chain, or such a chain does not exist. In the former case, the chain could be started at the arbitrary location in the ring between the two circles.

Jacob Steiner's wonderful theorem says that the same holds true even if the two circles are not concentric. A simple proof depends on the following assertion:

Let first two circles ₁ and ₂ lie outside each other. Their radical axis consists of the points from which the tangents to ₁ and ₂ are equal. A circle centered on the radical axis and having radius equal to the common tangent to the circles ₁ and ₂ from its center is perpendicular to both circles. It is therefore easy two find two intersecting circles ₁ and ₂ orthogonal to ₁ and ₂. Make an inversion with the center at one of the points of intersection of ₁ and ₂. ₁ and ₂ will map onto two straight intersecting lines. Let T' be their point of intersection. ₁ and ₂ will map onto two circles orthogonal to those lines and therefore both centered at the point T'. (We can prove even a stronger result.)

If one of the given circles is located in the interior of the other, we may first make an inversion that will separate the two. Any inversion with the center in the ring formed by the two circles will serve that purpose.

References

1. J. L. Coolidge, A Treatise On the Circle and the Sphere, AMS - Chelsea Publishing, 1971
2. H. S. M. Coxeter, Introduction to Geometry, John Wiley & Sons, 1961
3. H. S. M. Coxeter, S. L. Greitzer, Geometry Revisited, MAA, 1967

Inversion - Introduction

• Angle Preservation Property
• Apollonian Circles Theorem
• Archimedes' Twin Circles and a Brother
• Bisectal Circle
• Chain of Inscribed Circles
• Circle Inscribed in a Circular Segment
• Circle Inversion: Reflection in a Circle
• Circle Inversion Tool
• Feuerbach's Theorem: a Proof
• Four Touching Circles
• Hart's Inversor
• Inversion in the Incircle
• Inversion with a Negative Power
• Miquel's Theorem for Circles
• Peaucellier Linkage
• Polar Circle
• Poles and Polars
• Radical Axis of Circles Inscribed in a Circular Segment
• Steiner's porism
• Stereographic Projection and Inversion
• Tangent Circles and an Isosceles Triangle
• Tangent Circles and an Isosceles Triangle II
• Three Tangents, Three Secants

Copyright © 1996-2009 Alexander Bogomolny