Chords, arcs, and the equal angles of reflection
Circle diagrams reasoning that the angles of incidence are equal, with a short calculation
The sheet is filled with circle-and-line constructions in which chords, arcs and triangles are lettered a through S. One passage reasons about reflection, treating n as the real object, e as its image and m as the eye, and concludes that the angles of incidence are equal, proved through two triangles. A small arithmetical operation pairing the number 1000 with 12 sits in the upper-left margin, and further faint mirror-script notes accompany the diagrams.
On this page
Equal chords and the midpoint of the curve
When the two lines a e and c h are of equal length, the middle of the line a c strikes upon the middle of the curve i h, that is at f. If instead the lines b a and b c are unequal, the relation changes.
The eye, the image, and equal angles of incidence
Let n be the real object and e its image; m is the eye. The image also lies at the centre of the circle b e S, which cuts the equal angles that place the angle of incidence at point c. The angles of incidence are equal to one another, as shown by the two triangles a c b and d e c.
Tangent of a chord parallel to another line
When the straight line c b is parallel to the straight line a b, the contact that c b makes with the arc a n o falls at the middle of that arc. If the line a b descends, the point of contact shifts accordingly.
A short calculation with 1000 and 12
A brief arithmetical operation sets the number 1000, written twice, against 12, worked out in the margin among the geometric figures.
