What is the importance of studying Sine and Cosine Integral?

  • Context: Undergrad 
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    Cosine Integral Sine
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the Sine and Cosine Integral functions, their definitions, applications, and the challenges associated with studying them. Participants express a desire for more comprehensive resources and practical examples, particularly in the context of antenna design and related mathematical concepts.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks more in-depth resources on Sine and Cosine Integrals beyond basic definitions found in textbooks and online.
  • Another participant emphasizes the need to understand the definitions of integrals and trigonometric functions to relate them effectively.
  • It is noted that Sine and Cosine Integrals are distinct from standard trigonometric calculus and involve more complex definitions, including the Sync function.
  • Some participants mention the relevance of these integrals in fields such as signal processing and quantum mechanics.
  • There are inquiries about software tools for solving Sine and Cosine Integrals, with suggestions for numerical methods over exact solutions.
  • Participants discuss the potential need to review related mathematical concepts such as Bessel and Gamma functions to better understand Sine and Cosine Integrals.
  • Several resources and textbooks are suggested, including advanced optics books and specific software for special function calculations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of views on the complexity of Sine and Cosine Integrals and the resources available for studying them. There is no consensus on a single approach or solution, and multiple competing views on the necessity of reviewing related mathematical concepts exist.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that the existing literature may not adequately cover Sine and Cosine Integrals, particularly in the context of undergraduate studies. There are mentions of unresolved mathematical steps and the complexity of solutions involving exponential integrals.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students and professionals in engineering, physics, and mathematics who are looking for resources and methods to study Sine and Cosine Integrals, particularly in applications related to antenna design and signal processing.

  • #31
yungman said:
Input has to be in radians, not degree. I cannot find out if I can change input to degree or not.
Script programs at the level of Mathematica, Matlab, Octave etc only use radians and so should you.

If you absolutely insist on input in degrees then you need to write out the conversion: ##\sin (30^\circ )## would get typed in as
Code:
sin(pi*30/180)
 
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  • #32
Simon Bridge said:
Script programs at the level of Mathematica, Matlab, Octave etc only use radians and so should you.

If you absolutely insist on input in degrees then you need to write out the conversion: ##\sin (30^\circ )## would get typed in as
Code:
sin(pi*30/180)

Thanks
 
  • #33
lurflurf said:
These are pretty fun to study, though other things are as well. They are covered in many advanced calculus books and books on special functions. Most people only want a brief introduction.

Yes, it would be nice if I have time. I am studying antenna theory and only on Cpt.4, I already had to study spherical geometry, Poyncare sphere, wave polarization and now this Sine and Cosine Integral. I know I have to review Gamma and Bessel's functions for the next chapter. At least I gone deeper into those two in the PDE before. It's just hard to study everything. This antenna theory already put the vector calculus through the ringer!
 

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