"ALGORITHMS: 'Rational' geometry simplifies EE toolbox staple"

Engineers today model alternating current, magnetic flux and other quantities using trigonometric calculations that require the use of a computer, calculator or, at the least, lookup tables. Now mathematician Norman Wildberger proposes scrapping the angle representation in geometry in favor of a "rational" system. By beginning with simpler definitions, all the familiar engineering calculations that currently require tables or a calculator can be done with simple arithmetic, argues Wildberger, whose "rational trigonometry" uses ratios of whole numbers in place of the sine, cosine and tangent functions. Wildberger says his concepts of divine proportions, rational trigonometry and universal geometry will benefit EEs and anyone else whose work involves trigonometry.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=171100318