Power of a point P intersects the circle at A and B, the endpoints of the diameter. Their respective products of distances are equal to each other and to the power of point P in that circle This equality is sometimes known as the ""secant-tangent theorem"", ""intersecting chords theorem"", or the ""power-of-a-point theorem"". The power of a point is used in many geometrical definitions and proofs. For example, the radical axis of two given circles is the straight line consisting of points that have equal power to both circles. For each point on this line, there is a unique circle centered on that point
Power of a point centered on the midpoint of O and P and passing through both points. It can also be shown that the point Q is the inverse of P with respect to the given circle. The "power of a point theorem", due to Jakob Steiner, states that for any line through "A" intersecting a circle "c" in points "P" and "Q", the power of the point with respect to the circle "c" is given up to a sign by the product of the lengths of the segments from "A" to "P" and "A" to "Q", with a positive sign if "A" is