Heron’s Formula in Higher Dimensions

Abstract

This paper shows how geometric algebra can be used to derive a novel generalization of Heron’s classical formula for the area of a triangle in the plane to higher dimensions. It begins by illustrating some of the many ways in which the conformal model of three-dimensional Euclidean space yields provocative insights into some of our most basic intuitive notions of solid geometry. It then uses this conceptual framework to elucidate the geometric meaning of Heron’s formula in the plane, and explains in detail how it extends naturally to the volumes of tetrahedra in space. The paper closes by outlining a proof of a previously conjectured extension of the formula to the hyper-volumes of simplices in all dimensions.