Naming the Solutions for x tan(x) = k: Inventing Our Own Notations?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ianbell
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Inverse
AI Thread Summary
The function f(x) = x tan(x) does not have a widely accepted name, particularly regarding the solutions to x tan(x) = k for integer k. Participants in the discussion suggest that individuals are free to create their own notations, with one proposing the term "Office_Shredder numbers" in honor of a mathematician who approximated their solutions. Another contributor introduces the "k-th Bellian function" notation, represented as Beta_k(y), to describe unique solutions within specific intervals. The discussion highlights the lack of established terminology while encouraging creative naming conventions. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the flexibility in naming mathematical solutions.
ianbell
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Does the function f(x) = x tan(x) have a name? I am particularly interested in the solutions to x tan(x) = k for integer k. Do these numbers have an accepted name or notation?

TIA.
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
Galumba-floop numbers, perhaps?
In other words, you are free to invent your own names.
 
They're actually called the Office_Shredder numbers, in honor of the great mathematician Office_Shredder, who discovered a numerical approximation for their solution in 1972.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Why do you need to know?
 
arildno said:
In other words, you are free to invent your own names.

Oh well in that case, in the absence of provenance for the Office-Shredder claim, I dub the unique solution to x tan(x)=y in
[(k-half)pi,(k+half)pi] for nonzero integer k to be the k-th Bellian function of y.
Written capital Beta sub k (y) to distinguish from the Bessel and Bell and , er, Beta functions.

For k=0 we have two equal and opposite solutions for y>0 and none for y<0.
 
Seemingly by some mathematical coincidence, a hexagon of sides 2,2,7,7, 11, and 11 can be inscribed in a circle of radius 7. The other day I saw a math problem on line, which they said came from a Polish Olympiad, where you compute the length x of the 3rd side which is the same as the radius, so that the sides of length 2,x, and 11 are inscribed on the arc of a semi-circle. The law of cosines applied twice gives the answer for x of exactly 7, but the arithmetic is so complex that the...
Thread 'Imaginary Pythagoras'
I posted this in the Lame Math thread, but it's got me thinking. Is there any validity to this? Or is it really just a mathematical trick? Naively, I see that i2 + plus 12 does equal zero2. But does this have a meaning? I know one can treat the imaginary number line as just another axis like the reals, but does that mean this does represent a triangle in the complex plane with a hypotenuse of length zero? Ibix offered a rendering of the diagram using what I assume is matrix* notation...
Fermat's Last Theorem has long been one of the most famous mathematical problems, and is now one of the most famous theorems. It simply states that the equation $$ a^n+b^n=c^n $$ has no solutions with positive integers if ##n>2.## It was named after Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665). The problem itself stems from the book Arithmetica by Diophantus of Alexandria. It gained popularity because Fermat noted in his copy "Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et...
Back
Top