Conway triangle notation
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In geometry, the Conway triangle notation simplifies and clarifies the algebraic expression of various trigonometric relationships in a triangle. Using the symbol for twice the triangle's area, the symbol is defined to mean times the cotangent of any arbitrary angle .
The notation is named after English mathematician John Horton Conway,[1] who promoted its use, but essentially the same notation (using instead of ) can be found in an 1894 paper by Spanish mathematician Juan Jacobo Durán Loriga.[2]
Definition
Basic formulas
In particular:
- where is the Brocard angle. The law of cosines is used: .
- for values of where
Furthermore the convention uses a shorthand notation for and
Trigonometric relationships
Important identities
where R is the circumradius and abc = 2SR and where r is the incenter, and
Trigonometric conversions
Useful formulas
Applications
Let D be the distance between two points P and Q whose trilinear coordinates are pa : pb : pc and qa : qb : qc. Let Kp = apa + bpb + cpc and let Kq = aqa + bqb + cqc. Then D is given by the formula:
Distance between circumcenter and orthocenter
Using this formula it is possible to determine OH, the distance between the circumcenter and the orthocenter as follows: For the circumcenter pa = aSA and for the orthocenter qa = SBSC/a
Hence:
Thus,