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$\begingroup$

Is it just for aesthetic purposes, or is there a deeper reason why we write $2\sqrt{3}$ and not $\sqrt{3}2$?

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    The format $\sqrt{3}2$ is easily confused with $\sqrt{32}$. Indeed, when I saw the subject, my initial instinct was to correct it to $\sqrt{32}$.2012-10-12
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    I suspect it was also common for early typesetters to skip the overline, and just typeset $\sqrt{3}$ as $\sqrt{}3$, which would then be clearly ambiguous.2012-10-12
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    We write $2\sqrt{3}$ to just to simplify the number, while $\sqrt{3}2$ will make confusion2012-10-12
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    @ThomasAndrews : Writing √3 is not an instance of typesetters skipping the overline; rather it is a case where no overline is called for. The overline in $\sqrt{3x}$ indicates that the whole $3x$ is within the radical, rather than just the $3$.2012-10-12
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    The proper name for the 'overline' is 'vinculum'2013-04-12

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