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T-7
Aug16-07, 02:21 PM
Could someone tell me which trig identity this chap (in a Physics textbook) is using to turn

sin(Kx)sin(2Kx)

into

sin^2(3Kx/2) - sin^2(Kx/2)

Cheers.

nicktacik
Aug16-07, 02:39 PM
\sin{kx}\sin{2kx}

=\frac{\cos{(-kx)}-\cos{(3kx)}}{2}

=\frac{\cos{(kx)}}{2} - \frac{\cos{(3kx)}}{2}

=\frac{-1 + \cos{(kx)}}{2} - \frac{-1 + \cos{(3kx)}}{2}

=\sin^2{(3kx/2) - \sin^2{(kx/2)}

T-7
Aug16-07, 03:11 PM
\sin{kx}\sin{2kx}

=\frac{\cos{(-kx)}-\cos{(3kx)}}{2}

=\frac{\cos{(kx)}}{2} - \frac{\cos{(3kx)}}{2}

=\frac{-1 + \cos{(kx)}}{2} - \frac{-1 + \cos{(3kx)}}{2}

=\sin^2{(3kx/2) - \sin^2{(kx/2)}

Ah... Thank you very much.