Воспользуемся формулой разности квадратов:
\({a^2}-{b^2} = \left( {a-b} \right)\left( {a + b} \right).\)
\({x^2}-81 = 0\,\,\,\,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,{x^2}-{9^2} = 0\,\,\,\,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,\left( {x-9} \right)\left( {x + 9} \right) = 0\,\,\,\,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \)
\( \Leftrightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,\left[ \begin{array}{l}x-9 = 0,\\x + 9 = 0\end{array} \right.\,\,\,\,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,\left[ \begin{array}{l}x = 9,\\x = -9.\end{array} \right.\)
Меньший корень уравнения \(x = -9.\)
Ответ: \(-9.\)