Monday, May 14, 2012
Playing with i pi
We learn in math that e to the i pi equals -1. [e in the base of the natural logarithim, i is the square root of minus 1, and pi is the ratio of the area of a circle to the radius squared.] Squaring both sides gives e to the i pi squared equals 1. Now e to the i pi squared equals e to the 2 i pi and 1 equals e to the 0. Have I proven, falsely, that 2 i pi equals 0 so that i equals 0? Actually not. What I have proven (again falsely) is that 2 pi equals 0. It's like saying that since sine of 2 pi equals sine of 0, then 2 pi equals 0. And if you think in terms of angles, the angle 2 pi is the angle 0. This is because sine of x is a cyclic function of x. Well, it turns out that e to the i x is also a cyclic function of x for e to the i x equals cos x plus i sin x. In other words, it is a trigonomic function.
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