Pythagorean triple

A Pythagorean triple consists of three positive integers a, b, and c, such that a² + b² = c². Such a triple is commonly written (a, b, c), a well-known example is (3, 4, 5). If (a, b, c) is a Pythagorean triple, then so is (ka, kb, kc) for any positive integer k. A triangle whose side lengths are a Pythagorean triple is a right triangle and called a Pythagorean triangle.

A primitive Pythagorean triple is one in which a, b and c are coprime (that is, they have no common divisor larger than 1).^[1] For example, (3, 4, 5) is a primitive Pythagorean triple whereas (6, 8, 10) is not. Every Pythagorean triple can be scaled to a unique primitive Pythagorean triple by dividing (a, b, c) by their greatest common divisor. Conversely, every Pythagorean triple can be obtained by multiplying the elements of a primitive Pythagorean triple by a positive integer (the same for the three elements).

The name is derived from the Pythagorean theorem, stating that every right triangle has side lengths satisfying the formula ${\displaystyle a^{2}+b^{2}=c^{2}}$; thus, Pythagorean triples describe the three integer side lengths of a right triangle. However, right triangles with non-integer sides do not form Pythagorean triples. For instance, the triangle with sides ${\displaystyle a=b=1}$ and ${\displaystyle c={\sqrt {2}}}$ is a right triangle, but ${\displaystyle (1,1,{\sqrt {2}})}$ is not a Pythagorean triple because the square root of 2 is not an integer or ratio of integers. Moreover, ${\displaystyle 1}$ and ${\displaystyle {\sqrt {2}}}$ do not have an integer common multiple because ${\displaystyle {\sqrt {2}}}$ is irrational.

Pythagorean triples have been known since ancient times. The oldest known record comes from Plimpton 322, a Babylonian clay tablet from about 1800 BC, written in a sexagesimal number system.^[2]

When searching for integer solutions, the equation a² + b² = c² is a Diophantine equation. Thus Pythagorean triples are among the oldest known solutions of a nonlinear Diophantine equation.