Why is the inradius of any triangle at most half its circumradius?
Solution 1:
So Proof #1 can be modified to be completely elementary.
First, it is easy to show that the incircle is the smallest circle touching all 3 sides. The circle passing through the midpoints (the nine-point circle) obviously has circumradius half that of the larger circle. No need to invoke Feuerbach's theorem for this.
Cheers,
Rofler
Solution 2:
Compute the area of a triangle (first method):
Consider the following diagram:
$\hspace{4.5cm}$
The area of the green triangle is $$ A=\tfrac12ab\sin(\theta)\tag{1} $$ By the Inscribed Angle Theorem, the angle that $c$ subtends at the origin, $o$, is $2\theta$. Therefore, we get that $$ c=2R\sin(\theta)\tag{2} $$ Combining $(1)$ and $(2)$ yields $$ 4AR=abc\tag{3} $$ Compute the area of a triangle (second method):
Consider the following diagram:
$\hspace{4.5cm}$
Note that the areas of the the red ($\color{#C00000}{\triangle iyz}$), green ($\color{#00A000}{\triangle izx}$), and blue ($\color{#0000FF}{\triangle ixy}$) triangles are $\frac12r$ times $a$, $b$, and $c$, respectively. Therefore, we get $$ 2A=r(a+b+c)\tag{4} $$
Compute $d$:
Translate the circumcenter, $o$, of $\triangle xyz$ to the origin. Then
$$
|x|=|y|=|z|=R\tag{5}
$$
Furthermore, using $a=|y-z|$, $b=|z-x|$, and $c=|x-y|$, we get
$$
\begin{align}
2y\cdot z&=2R^2-a^2\tag{6a}\\
2z\cdot x&=2R^2-b^2\tag{6b}\\
2x\cdot y&=2R^2-c^2\tag{6c}
\end{align}
$$
Explanation:
$\text{(6a)}$: $a^2=(y-z)\cdot(y-z)=|y|^2+|z|^2-2y\cdot z$, then apply $(5)$
$\text{(6b)}$: $b^2=(z-x)\cdot(z-x)=|z|^2+|x|^2-2z\cdot x$, then apply $(5)$
$\text{(6c)}$: $c^2=(x-y)\cdot(x-y)=|x|^2+|y|^2-2x\cdot y$, then apply $(5)$
As mentioned above, the areas of the the red ($\color{#C00000}{\triangle iyz}$), green ($\color{#00A000}{\triangle izx}$), and blue ($\color{#0000FF}{\triangle ixy}$) triangles are proportional to $a$, $b$, and $c$, respectively. Thus, the barycentric coordinates of the incenter, $i$, are the mean of the vertices weighted by the lengths of the opposite sides:
$$
i=\frac{ax+by+cz}{a+b+c}\tag{7}
$$
and therefore, using $(3)$-$(7)$ yields that $d$, the distance between the incenter and circumcenter, satisfies
$$
\begin{align}
d^2
&=\frac{a^2R^2+b^2R^2+c^2R^2+2abx\cdot y+2bcy\cdot z+2caz\cdot x}{(a+b+c)^2}\tag{8a}\\
&=\frac{a^2R^2+b^2R^2+c^2R^2+ab(2R^2-c^2)+bc(2R^2-a^2)+ca(2R^2-b^2)}{(a+b+c)^2}\tag{8b}\\
&=\frac{(a+b+c)^2R^2-(a+b+c)abc}{(a+b+c)^2}\tag{8c}\\[3pt]
&=R^2-\frac{abc}{a+b+c}\tag{8d}\\[6pt]
&=R^2-2Rr\tag{8e}\\[12pt]
&=R(R-2r)\tag{8f}
\end{align}
$$
Explanation:
$\text{(8a)}$: take the dot product of $(7)$ with itself and apply $(5)$
$\text{(8b)}$: apply $(6)$ to the dot products
$\text{(8c)}$: collect terms
$\text{(8d)}$: simplify
$\text{(8e)}$: apply $(3)$ and $(4)$
$\text{(8f)}$: factor
Since $d^2\ge0$, and $R>0$, we immediately get that $$ r\le\tfrac12R\tag9 $$