Google Classroom
GeoGebraGeoGebra Classroom

T-Angles

This activity belongs to the GeoGebra book GeoGebra Principia. In the unit T-circle, we can define the T-radian exactly the same way we define an E-radian in the unit E-circle. To T-measure an angle, it's sufficient to measure the T-length of the corresponding (straight) arc on the unit T-circle. A T-circle has 8 T-radians. Perpendicularity and parallelism are preserved under rotations, but, in general, T-distances are not invariant with respect to E-rotations... nor with respect to T-rotations! In fact, one of the peculiarities of T-distance is that it is sensitive to the orientation of lines: a segment, when T-rotated, no longer measures the same. The same happens with angles.
[i]Cartoon of Mafalda, by Quino
    "It's quite a puzzle, isn't it? How on earth
    does time manage to round the corners on square clocks?"[/i]
Cartoon of Mafalda, by Quino "It's quite a puzzle, isn't it? How on earth does time manage to round the corners on square clocks?"
The sum of the angles in any T-triangle is 4 T-radians. A T-triangle can be equilateral or equiangular, but it can never be regular. Any E-square is also a T-square. But because the taxicab distance is not uniform in every direction, these two T-squares have the same perimeter (though not the same area):
[i][i]    The square on the left is also a T-circle.
    The one on the right is not.[/i][/i]
The square on the left is also a T-circle. The one on the right is not.
Trigonometric T-functions are much simpler than their Euclidean counterparts. For example, the T-sine function is not only non-transcendent but also piecewise linear. The T-tangent function is composed by piecewise E-hyperbolas.
  • Note: One possible expression for the T-sine function is: tsin(x) = 1 – 2 |1/2 - x/4 + 2 floor(1/4 + x/8)|. Thus, the T-cosine function can be defined as tcos(x) = tsin(x+2). The T-tangent function is a piecewise homographic function .
Author of the construction of GeoGebra: Rafael Losada.