Talk:Abel–Ruffini theorem

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Good article but there is a lot of emphasis used. I'd suggest that the author remove all but the most important italics.

[edit] Is this article accurate?

I think this article contains a major historical inaccuracy. It says that Ruffini (and, independently, Abel) proved that the solution of the general polynomial equation of degree ≥ 5 in radicals is impossible. I think what these two showed is that the solution in radicals of the general polynomial equation of degree = 5 is impossible. Evariste Galois is generally recognized as the guy who extended the result to degrees > 5. Isn't that right? DavidCBryant 18:18, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

If you have a proof for degree 5, the result for degree >5 follows immediately. Specifically, if there were a solution in radicals for ax⁶ + bx⁵ + cx⁴ + dx³ + ex² + fx + g = 0, then you could just put g=0 and you immediately have a solution in radicals for degree-5 polynomials, which contradicts the Abel-Ruffini theorem. -- Dominus 18:44, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, I was definitely asleep at the switch when I wrote my first post. Thanks for clearing that up. But I still think something's not quite right, in between this article, the biography of Galois, and the biographies of Ruffini and Abel. I was reading all that stuff yesterday, and I got the distinct impression that the (admittedly confusing) history of the "quintic" problem is not described clearly on Wikipedia. I'll try reading it all over again so I can explain what bugged me a little more precisely. (Oh ... I think this is part of it. Abel-Ruffini establishes the impossibility of a general solution, but does not completely characterize the special cases, such as x⁸ - 2x⁴ + 16 = 0, where a solution in radicals is possible. Didn't it take Galois field theory to complete that characterization? I'm not real big on algebra.) DavidCBryant 12:25, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Proof Correct

There was a question in the article itself as to whether the proof was correct. It noted that the proof asserted that [E:F] is less than or equal to 5!, whereas what is needed is that |G(E/F)| is less than or equal to 5!. But G(E/F) is the Galois group of the extension E/F, so these are equivalent statements. Thus, the proof is correct as written, and I edited out your concern. --LamilLerran 18:46, 14 February 2007 (UTC)