WOLFRAM

SurdForm
SurdForm

is an option to RadicalBox and SqrtBox that indicates whether the radical represents a Surd expression.

Details

  • With the default value SurdFormFalse, SqrtBox and RadicalBox represent principal roots. In particular, SqrtBox[x] is interpreted as Sqrt[x], and RadicalBox[x,n] is interpreted as x^(1/n).
  • With the specification SurdFormTrue, SqrtBox and RadicalBox represent real roots computed using Surd. In particular, SqrtBox[x] is interpreted as Surd[x,2], and RadicalBox[x,n] is interpreted as Surd[x,n].
  • SurdFormTrue displays with a short vertical line on the right side of the radical sign.
  • A templated RadicalBox with SurdFormTrue can be entered as surd, and moves between the fields.

Examples

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Basic Examples  (4)Summary of the most common use cases

Compare the display of SqrtBox with and without SurdFormTrue:

Out[1]=1

The interpretation of SqrtBox depends on the value of SurdForm:

Out[1]=1

The first expression is interpreted as a fractional power, the second as a Surd expression:

Compare the display of RadicalBox with and without SurdFormTrue:

Out[1]=1

The interpretation of RadicalBox depends on the value of SurdForm:

Out[1]=1

The first expression is interpreted as a fractional power, the second as a Surd expression:

Possible Issues  (1)Common pitfalls and unexpected behavior

SurdForm can be set as a StyleBox or higher-level option setting:

The notebook front end respects any such inherited setting for rendering purposes:

Out[2]=2

However, the inherited setting is not used to interpret the expression:

Out[3]=3
Wolfram Research (2012), SurdForm, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html.
Wolfram Research (2012), SurdForm, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html.

Text

Wolfram Research (2012), SurdForm, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html.

Wolfram Research (2012), SurdForm, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html.

CMS

Wolfram Language. 2012. "SurdForm." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html.

Wolfram Language. 2012. "SurdForm." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (2012). SurdForm. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html

Wolfram Language. (2012). SurdForm. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_surdform, author="Wolfram Research", title="{SurdForm}", year="2012", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html}", note=[Accessed: 08-July-2025 ]}

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_surdform, author="Wolfram Research", title="{SurdForm}", year="2012", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html}", note=[Accessed: 08-July-2025 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_surdform, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={SurdForm}, year={2012}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html}, note=[Accessed: 08-July-2025 ]}

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_surdform, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={SurdForm}, year={2012}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/SurdForm.html}, note=[Accessed: 08-July-2025 ]}