| MadSci Network: Engineering |
Question: Do you use trigonometry in engineering, and if so,how?
Trigonometry is a very important tool for scientists and engineers. This site mentions just a few of the many applications. Trigonometry means the study of the triangle. Most often, it refers to finding angles of a triangle when the lengths of the sides are known, or finding the lengths of two sides when the angles and one of the side lengths are known.
Look at the pictures of model bridges at this site. Notice how many triangles there are in any of these bridge designs. When actually designing and building a bridge, an engineer can use trigonometry to figure out what the angles between the beams in a bridge must be, and how long they must be.
Many other types of engineers also use trigonometry in their everyday work. Here's an example of a typical problem that involves the use of trigonometry. Things like the generation of electrical current or a computer use angles in ways that are difficult to see directly, but that rely on the fundamental rules of trigonometry to work properly. Any time angles appear in a problem, the use of trigonometry usually isn't far behind.
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Engineering.