ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Carminati–McLenaghan invariants

Hello there! So, have you ever looked at a shape and wondered if it's special? Well, mathematicians wonder the same thing and they have come up with a tool called Carminati-McLenaghan invariants to help them identify those special shapes.

Let's imagine that we have a shape, for example, a triangle. The Carminati-McLenaghan invariants are like a set of instructions that tell us how to look at this triangle to see if it's special or not. These instructions are like a recipe that we follow step-by-step.

First, we need to figure out how many sides or edges our triangle has. This is called the degree of the shape. For our triangle, the degree is 3.

Next, we look at the angles of the triangle. We measure each angle and write down its value in degrees. Then, we use a special formula to find a number called the discriminant.

Finally, we use the degree and the discriminant to calculate the Carminati-McLenaghan invariants. These invariants are like the fingerprint of the shape, they are unique to each shape.

So, by using the Carminati-McLenaghan invariants, mathematicians can identify special shapes that have unique properties. These shapes can be found in different areas of math and science, such as in physics or in the study of surfaces in geometry.

Now you know a little bit more about the Carminati-McLenaghan invariants and how they help mathematicians find special shapes. Keep exploring and who knows, you might find new shapes that are special too!