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A formula for computing the trigonometric identities for the one-third angle exists, but it requires finding the zeroes of the cubic equation 4x 3 − 3x + d = 0, where is the value of the cosine function at the one-third angle and d is the known value of the cosine function at
His method was to show that the sine and cosine functions are alternating series formed from the even and odd terms respectively of the exponential series. He presented "Euler's formula", as well as near-modern abbreviations (sin., cos., tang., cot., sec., and cosec.). [30]
In contrast, by the Lindemann–Weierstrass theorem, the sine or cosine of any non-zero algebraic number is always transcendental. [4] The real part of any root of unity is a trigonometric number. By Niven's theorem, the only rational trigonometric numbers are 0, 1, −1, 1/2, and −1/2. [5]
The fixed point iteration x n+1 = cos(x n) with initial value x 0 = −1 converges to the Dottie number. Zero is the only real fixed point of the sine function; in other words the only intersection of the sine function and the identity function is sin ( 0 ) = 0 {\displaystyle \sin(0)=0} .
For the sine function, we can handle other values. If θ > π /2, then θ > 1. But sin θ ≤ 1 (because of the Pythagorean identity), so sin θ < θ. So we have < <. For negative values of θ we have, by the symmetry of the sine function
A calculation confirms that z(0) = 1, and z is a constant so z = 1 for all x, so the Pythagorean identity is established. A similar proof can be completed using power series as above to establish that the sine has as its derivative the cosine, and the cosine has as its derivative the negative sine.
The sine and cosine functions are fundamental to the theory of periodic functions, [63] such as those that describe sound and light waves. Fourier discovered that every continuous , periodic function could be described as an infinite sum of trigonometric functions.
The quantity 206 265 ″ is approximately equal to the number of arcseconds in a circle (1 296 000 ″), divided by 2π, or, the number of arcseconds in 1 radian. The exact formula is = (″) and the above approximation follows when tan X is replaced by X.