Square root of 2
The square root of 2 (approximately 1.4142) is the positive real number that, when multiplied by itself or squared, equals the number 2. It may be written in mathematics as 2 {\displaystyle {\sqrt {2}}} or 2 1 / 2 {\displaystyle 2^{1/2}}. It is an algebraic number, and therefore not a transcendental number. Technically, it should be called the principal square root of 2, to distinguish it from the negative number with the same property.

Geometrically, the square root of 2 is the length of a diagonal across a square with sides of one unit of length; this follows from the Pythagorean theorem. It was probably the first number known to be irrational. The fraction 99 / 70 (≈ 1.4142 857) is sometimes used as a good rational approximation with a reasonably small denominator.

Sequence A002193 in the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences consists of the digits in the decimal expansion of the square root of 2, here truncated to 65 decimal places:
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