THE PROJECTIVE PLANE

Since so much simplicity is achieved by the use of ideal points, we shall henceforth suppose that
projections employ them to the fullest extent possible. By this we mean, first, that every projection will
be regarded as a central projection. Second, any projective point can be the center of a projection.
Third, the lines joining pairs of corresponding points in a projection will be understood to be projective
lines. Fourth, in projecting one line on another, or one plane on another, it will be understood that these
terms refer to projective lines and projective planes. In brief, projections will be regarded as involving
projective points, lines, and planes, in contrast to the projections of earlier chapters, which involved only
Euclidean points, lines, and planes. These earlier projections in Euclidean space are therefore just parts
of the projections in projective space with which we shall be concerned.

By working in the more ample arena of projective space with this broadened concept of a
projection we can develop a simpler and more orderly projective geometry than was possible
previously. We can see immediately, for example, that the projection of a line g on a coplanar line g’
establishes, without exception, a 1-1 correspondence between the points of these lines. For let O be the
center of projection, and P be any point of g. (We must keep in mind that the points, lines, and plane
dealt with are projective). There is then a unique line OP by 5.2. This line meets g’ in a unique point P’ by
5.2. Conversely, 5.2 also shows that each given point of g’ is the image of a unique point of g. Thus, P
projects into P’. Fig. VIII, 3 illustrates the case in wich the plane is an extended one, g

COLLINEARITY, CONCURRENCE, DUALITY

Is ideal, and O is Euclidean. A, the point of intersection of g and g’, projects into itself.

Similarly, it can be shown that the projection of one plane on another establishes, without
exception, a 1-1 correspondence between the points of the planes and a 1-1 correspondence between
the lines of the planes. In showing this one would use the incidence relations for projective space stated
in $6.

When working in Euclidean space, we defined a projective property to be a property that is

preserved by all projections of one Euclidean plane on another, and later showed that these properties
are the same as those preserved by the projective transformations of a Euclidean plane into itself. We
proceed in the same way in working with projective space.

7.1 Definition. The properties preserved by all projections of one projective plane on another are
called projective properties.

Later, we shall see that these properties are the same as those preserved by all projective
transformations of a projective plane into itself.
 EXERCISES

1. Show in detail how the parallel projection of one Euclidean plane on another becomes a
central projection by use of ideal points.
2. Prove that the projection of one projective plane on another establishes a 1-1
correspondence among (a) the projective points of the planes, (b) the projective lines of the
planes.

8. Collinearity, Concurrence, Duality. One of the important ptojective properties

considered in earlier chapters was the collinearity of points. The presence of vanishing points,
however, had kept this property from being universal. Now that the image of every line in a
projection is a line we know that collinearity is preserved without exception. Moreover, since
the point-corres-pondences established by projections are 1-1, n collinear points always go into
n collinear points.
Working in Euclidean space, we did not find that the cocurrence of lines was a projective
property, for the presence of vanishing points made it possible for a family of concurrent lines to
project into a family of parallel lines, and vice versa. A family of concurrent lines in a projective
plane, however, must project into a family of concurrent lines. For, (1) the image of each line is a
line, (2) the point common to the original lines goes into a point common to their images, and
(3) these images can have no other common point wtihout implying that the original lines had
two common points. Thus, the concurrence of lines in a projective plane is preserved by
projections of that plane on another. In particular, since the line-correspondences established
by such projections are 1-1, n concurrent lines always go into n concurrent lines. It is to be noted
that in a projective plane the term penciloflines means only family of concurrent lines.

THE PROJECTIVE PLANE

We have already noticed that a projective plane possesses a certain symmetry of structure
as regards its points and lines which does not occur in a Euclidean plane. This was brought to our
attention by the pair of theorems: through two points there passes a unique line and two lines
meet in a unique point. The symmetry of these statements becomes even more apparent if we
rephrase them, using the word “on” : two points are on a unique line and two lines are on a
unique point. Later in the chapter we shall encounter other examples of such symmetrical pairs
of theorems. They illustrate what is known as the principle of duality in the projective plane.
Before describing this principle let us mention that the two statements above are called
dual statements, or duals, because replacing “point” by “line” and “line” by “point” in either
statement yields the other. In general, if a given statement involving collinearity, concurrence,
or both, is expressed in the “on” language, and we “ replace “ponit” by “line” and “line” by
“point” in the given statement, the resulting statement is called the dual statement or the dual
of the given one, and vice versa. Altough the “on” language makes for simplicity, it need not be
used. If we do not use it, then, besides making the above-mentioned replacements, we must
also replace “collinear” by “concurrent” and “concurrent” by “collinear” in order to obtain the
dual statement.

8.1 Principle of Duality in the Projective Plane. If one of two dual statements is a theorem,
so is the other.
This theorem, whose proof we omit, is very useful in developing the geometry of the
projective plane. Because of the part which point and line play in the definition of a dual
statement, and hence in the theorem, they are called dual elements in the projective plane.
It may be helpful if we illustrate the dualizing process a bit more. The dual of the statement,
“this figure consists of three coliinear points and four concurrent lines,” is the statement, “this
figure consists of three concurrent lines and four collinear points.” The two figures are called
dual figures (each being regarded as the dual of the other) since their descriptive statements are
duals. Similarly, the dual of the figure consisting of four points, no three of which are collinear, is
the figure consisting of four lines, no three of which are concurrent. In the “on” language we
would say that the first of these figures is made up of four points, no three on a line, and that
the second is made up of four lines, no three on a point.

EXERCISES
1. A figure consists of three collinear points, the line containing them, and three other lines,
one on each point. Describe the dual figure.
2. A figure consists of four points, no three coliinear, and the six lines joining them in pairs.
(a) Describe the dual figure; (b) describe the given figure in the “on” language.
3. A triangle in a projective plane is defined to be the figure consisting of three noncollinear
points and the lines joining them in pairs. Dualize this definition.

9. Cross-Ratio and Ideal Elements. Like the collinearity of points, the invariance of cross-
ratio also had its limitations when discussed previously. As long as four collinear points
projected into four collinear points, for example, it was true that cross-ratio was preserved, but
one or more of the four points might not project into anything. This difficulty, of course, has
been removed since n collinear ponits now always project into n collinear points. But a new
difficulty appears in the fact that some of these points may be ideal, whereas cross-ratio was
defined only for Euclidean points. This definition involves distances and hence cannot be applied
to ideal points, with which we have not associated the idea of distance. Since we do want to
retain the invariance of cross-ratio as a projective property, our first task is to say what the
cross-ratio of four points means when they are not all Euclidean. Similar remarks apply to the
cross-ratio of lines. Except when the contrary is indicated, all points and lines considered in this
section are understood to lie in the same extended plane.
First, let us see how to assign a value to the symbol ( AB, CD) when A, B, C, D are distinct
collinear points, D alone being ideal. Let P be any other point on their line (Fig. VIII. 4). Since P is
Euclidean,
 𝐴𝐶 𝐴𝑃
(AB, CD) = 𝐶𝐵 ÷ 𝑃𝐵

F we keep A, B, C fixed and let P recede indefinitely far along their straight line n either direction, AP/PB
approaches -1, and hence (AB, CP) approaches – AC/CB. When P recedes in this manner, the point (also
labeled P) in the circu-r model which corresponds to it approaches the point (also lebeled D) corres-
onding to D (Fig. VIII, 5). This suggest that we attach the value –AC/CB to e symbol (AB, CD).

9.1 Definition. If A, B, C, D are distinct collinear points, and D alone ideal,

𝐴𝐶
(AB, CD) = − 𝐶𝐵

̅̅̅̅. If C
In other words, (AB, CD) is the negative of the ordinary ratio in which C elives segment 𝐴𝐵
̅̅̅̅
is the midpoint of 𝐴𝐵, then AC/CB = 1 and (AB, CD) = -1. Retaining the earlier terminology concerning
harmonic sets, we can then state:

9.2 Two Euclidean points are separated harmonically by the midpoint of their segment and
the ideal point of their line.

Before the introduction of ideal points we saw that if A, B, C are distinct collinear points and C is
̅̅̅̅, there is a unique point D such that (AB, CD) = -1 (V, $9, Ex. 7). In view of 9.1 a
not the midpoint of 𝐴𝐵
more general statement can now be made:

9.3 If A, B, C are distinct collinear Euclidean points, there is a unique point D on their line
such that (AB, CD) = -1. D is ideal if and only if C is the midpoint of segment ̅̅̅̅
𝐴𝐵 .

The other cases in which just one of the four points is ideal are covered by the following
definition, suggested by V, 9.2 and V, 9.4.

9.4 Definition. Let A, B, C, D be distinct points on an extended line.

Then (AB, CD) = 1/ (AB, DC) if C is ideal,

And (AB, CD) = (CD, AB) if A or B is ideal.

CROSS-RATIO AND IDEAL ELEMENTS

 Before definiting the cross-ratio of four ideal points it will be helpful to consider the cross-ratio
of four lines a, b, c, d through a common point P. If none of these lines is ideal, then they are associated
with four Euclidean lines, which meet in P or are parallel according as P is Euclidean or ideal. Cross-ratio
of these Euclidean lines having been defined in V, $$11, 13, it is natural to procced as follows for the
projective lines a, b, c, d:

9.5 Definition. The cross-ratio of four concurrent lines, none ideal, is the same as that of
the associated Eudlidean lines.

From this and V, 11. 1, then, we have at once:

9.6 If a, b, c are distinct lines meeting in a Euclidean point, and R is any number not 0 or 1,
there is a unique line d through this point such that (ab, cd) = R.

It remains to define (ab, cd) when one of the lines a, b, c, d, say d, is ideal. Since this corresponds
to nothing considered previously, we need a clue to help us. Let a, b, c, d meet in P, which is therefore
ideal, and suppose m, m’ are any lines coplanar with a, b, c, d, but not containing P (Fig. VIII, 6). Then m
meets a, b, c, d in distinct points A, B, C, D, m’ meets them in distinct points A’, B’, C’, D’, and D, D’ alone
are ideal. Hence, by 9.1,

(1) (AB, CD) = -AC/CB and ( A’B’, C’ D’) = - A’C’/ C’B’.

Since a, b, c have a common ideal point, the Euclidean lines AA’, BB’, CC’ associated with them are
parallel and cut off proportional segments on m and m’. Hence, the ratio in which C divides 𝐴𝐵 ̅̅̅̅
̅̅̅̅̅̅. It then follows from (1) that (AB, CD) = (A’ B’, C’ D’). Thus,
equals the ratio in which C’ divides 𝐴′𝐵′
the cross-

THE PROJECTIVE PLANE

ratio of the points in which a, b, c, d are cut by a transversal is independent of the transversal used.
This is our clue, for we have found a number related to a, b, c, d which might serve as the value of
(ab, cd). Using this number is, in fact , very reasonable in view of a previous theorem on cross-ratio
of Euclidean lines (V, 11.2). Accordingly we make the following definition :
 9.7 Definition. If a, b, c, d are distinct concurrent lines and d is ideal, the cross-ratio (ab,
cd) is defined to be the same number as ( AB, CD), where A, B, C, D are the distinct points in which a,
b, c, d are met by any transversal.

Since a, b, c, d in this definition meet in an ideal point, the Euclidean lines α, β, ϒ associated
with a, b, c are parallel. Suppose ϒ is midway between α and β. Then C is the midpoint of segment 𝐴𝐵̅̅̅̅. It
follows from 9.3 that (AB, CD) = -1, and hence from 9.7 that (ab, cd) = -1. If V, $13, Ex. 2 is now
consulted, it will be seen that the excluded case in which R = -1 and one line is midway between two
others can now be taken care of by use of the ideal line, and that we can state the following more
general proposition:

9.8 If a, b, c are distinct extended lines meeting in an ideal point, and R is any number not 0
or 1, there is a unique line d concurrent with them such that (ab,cd) = R. Line d is ideal if R = -1 and the
Euclidean line associated with c is midway between those associated with a and b.

Combining this with 9.6 we then have:

9.9 if a, b, c are distinct concurrent lines and R is any number not 0 or 1, there is a unique
line d concurrent with them such that (ab, cd) = R.

The other cases in which one of the four lines is ideal are covered by the following definition,
suggested by our work in Chapter V:

9.10 Definition. Let a, b, c, d be distinct concurrent lines. Then

(ab, cd) = 1/ (ab, dc) if c is ideal,

And (ab, cd) = (cd, ab) if a or b is ideal.

Still confining ourselves to a single extended plane, we shall now define the cross-ratio of four
ideal points. Suppose that A, B, C, D are ideal points, that P is a Euclidean point, and that a, b, c, d are
four lines through P containing A, B, C, D, respectively (Fig. VIII, 7). Then (ab,cd) has value by 9.5.
Similarly, if Q ia any other Euclidean point, and e, f, g, h are four lines through Q containing A, B, C, D,
respectively, then (ef, gh) has a value. Since a and e contain the same ideal point A, the Euclidean lines
associated with them are parallel, as are those associated with b and f, c and g, and d and h. Because of
the equalities of angels resulting from this parallelism, the set of Euclidean lines associated with a, b, c, d
is congruent to the set associated with e, f, g, h, and so the cross-ratios of the two sets are equal. It then
follows from 9.5 that (ab,cd) = (ef, gh). In other words, the cross-ratio of four concurrent lines containing
A, B, C, D, respectively, is the same, regardless which lines are used. In other that these