Going Hyperbolic

An investigation into the hyperbolic sine and cosine functions as

well as their applications

ksc665

Mathematics Analysis and Approaches Higher Level

Internal Assessment

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Table of Contents:

1. Introduction, Rationale, and Aim

2. Hyperbolic Sine (sinh)

2.1. What is it?

2.2. Properties (maybe add identities like sinh(2x), sinh2(x), etc)

2.3. Transformations and derivative

3. Hyperbolic Cosine (cosh)

2.1. What is it?

2.2. Properties (maybe add identities like cosh(2x), cosh2(x), etc)

2.3. Transformations and derivative

4. Application of hyperbolic functions

4.1. Application of sinh

4.2. Application of cosh

5. Conclusion (not too sure what to put in here)

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1. Introduction:

1.1 Rationale

I have been fascinated with the sine and cosine functions since we first learned of them in grade 9. It

was intriguing how the Pythagorean theorem (a2+b2=c2) could be broke down into a unit circle, and

creating choosing x values (x<1), we could find out the coordinates of any point of intersection by

creating triangles to the origin. We did an investigation on this in class on this where we calculated the

angle “θ ” between the x axis and certain points on the unit circle. Our teacher then introduced us to

these points in their “cos and sin θ ” forms, and after, I was shocked when our teacher demonstrated

that we can calculate so much, with and without our calculators.

When I was reading an article by Niel Degrasse Tyson about the issues surrounding

intergalactic space travel, he talked about how we would have to travel at or near the speed of light in

order to make it feasible. I was curious about this problem, hence, I decided to research this problem

further, this is when I came across this function for time dilation:

c at
t (T )= sinh( ) (1.1) (Is Intergalactic)
a c

I was fascinated by this “sinh” function, which I originally thought was some sort of typo, until I saw it

referenced multiple times later in the article. This led me to research upon the idea of a different “type”

of sine and cosine function and the investigation into its properties and nature as my mathematics IA

topic.

1.2 Aims

The aim of the exploration is to understand some of the properties and features of the hyperbolic sine

and cosine functions. The characteristics of these functions need to be explored and understood in order

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to further calculate derivatives, integrals and other identities of the hyperbolic sine and cosine

functions. We will then look at how these functions play a role in understanding the world around us.

1.3

The hyperbolic sine function, parameterizes a hyperbola, while the ordinary sine function

parameterizes a circle, hence a hyperbolic appellation. The sinh and cosh functions trace the hyperbola,

similar to how the sin and cosine functions trace the: x 2− y 2 = 1

(2.00)

(Geogebra)

Hyperbolic functions also satisfy identities analogous to those of the ordinary trigonometric functions

and have important physical applications.

2. Hyperbolic sine (sinh):

2.1 Definition

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The hyperbolic sine is the odd part of the exponential function, it is defined by:

1 x −x
sinh( x)= (e −e ) (2.10)
2

(2.11)

(Geogebra)

Make the numbers on axis bigger

We can see from the above graph of sinh(x) (2.11) that the function and from the definition, that the

domain and range of the function are both the same (-∞, ∞). Note that this does not include -∞ or ∞.

The hyperbolic sine and cosine functions arise when applying the ordinary sine and cosine functions to

an imaginary angle.
ix
e =cos( x )+i sin( x) Definition of e ix (2.12)
−ix
e =cos (x)−i sin(x ) Definition of e−ix (2.13)

i(ix )
e =cos (ix)+ isin(ix) Putting (ix) in place of x and simplifying (2.14)

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 ix
e =cos( x )+isin( x) (2.15)

−x
e =cos (ix)+i sin(ix) Since i 2=-1, we simplied (2.16)

x
e =cos(ix)−i sin(ix) (2.17)

Subtracting (2.16) from (2.17) and dividing by 2, to obtain solution in form of sinh(x).

1 x −x 1
sinh( x) = (e −e ) = (i sin(ix)+i sin(ix)) (2.18)
2 2

sinh( x) = i sin(ix) (2.19)

This is the relation between the regular sine function and the hyperbolic sine function. We can see that

the hyperbolic sine is “doing the same thing” as the regular sine, but just including another imaginary

dimension to the normal x/y axis.

2.2 Properties

Hence, they are holomorphic functions (they can take on any complex value for z, except infinity).

Since it is holomorphic (and an “entire function”) the sinh function can be expressed as a single power

series that converges everywhere in the complex plane (Power Series expansion of hyperbolic):
∞
xn x x
2
x
3
x
n
e =∑
x
= 1+ + + + …....+ +….. (2.20)
n=0 n ! 1! 2! 3! n!

∞ n 2 3 n
(−x) x x x x
e− x =∑ = 1− + - + …....+(−1)n +….. (2.21)
n=0 n! 1 ! 2! 3! n!

Hence we can see that the function can be expressed as a single power series below (2.22) when the we

subtract e x and e− x and divide by 2 (from the definition of sinh in 2.10) we get the power series

expansion of sinh:

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 3 5 7 2n +1
x x x x
sinh( x) = x + + + + …....+ + …. , -∞ < x < ∞ (2.22)
3! 5! 7 ! (2 n+1)!

From the above power series (2.22), we can deduce that the series is convergent for all x within the

boundaries and for large values of x (4.11 Hyperbolic), we can approximate the hyperbolic sine to:
x
e
sinh( x) = (2.23)
2

2.3 Invrese and derivatives

The derivative of sinh is very interesting, let find the derivative of sinh(x):

d x 1 x −x
sinh( x )= ( e −e ) Definition of hyperbolic sine (2.24)
dx dx 2

1 d x d −x
= ( (e )− (e )) (2.25)
2 dx dx

1 x −x
= (e −(−e )) Derivation using chain rule (2.26)
2

1 x −x
= (e + e ) Simplification (2.27)
2

= cosh (x ) Definition of hyperbolic cosine (2.28)

d
sinh( x )=cosh (x ) + C Proven (2.29)
dx

Hence we can see that the derivative of sinh(z) is cosh(z), this is quite similar to the derivative of sin(x)

being cos(x).

Since sinh(x) is an even function, sinh−1 (x) must be well defined. The hyperbolic functions

themselves may be expressed in terms of exponential functions, but their inverses may be expressed in

terms of logarithms:

x = sinh(y) (2.30)

2x = e y −e− y (2.31)

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 2y
e − 2xe y −1 = 0 (2.32)

e = x + √ x +1
y 2
Since y is real, e y must be positive (2.33)

csch (x) = ln(x + √ x +1)

2
After taking logarithm of both sides (2.34)

Below we can see this inverse function csch(x) (2.35) drawn using Geogebra.

The function unlike its non-inverse counterpart, has two asymptotes at x=1 and x=(-1), and the function

is also not defined for x=0. The domain and range have the same minimums and maximums at -∞ and

∞, except x cannot take on the value of 0, hence the domain and range are the same csch(x) function;

R=D: (-∞, 0) U (0, ∞).

(2.35)

(Geogebra)

3. Hyperbolic cosine (cosh):

3.1 Definition

The hyperbolic cosine is the even part of the exponential function, it is defined by:

1 x −x
cos (x)= (e +e ) (3.10)
2

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We can also derive cosh from the normal cosine function like we did for sinh by applying an imaginary

angle to the function:

ix
e =cos( x )+isin( x) Definition of e ix (2.12)

e
−ix
=cos (x)−i sin(x ) Definition of e−ix (2.13)

e i(ix )=cos (ix )+ isin(ix ) Putting (ix) in place of x and simplifying (2.14)

ix
e =cos( x )+i sin( x) (2.15)

−x
e =cos (ix)+i sin(ix) Since i 2=-1, we can simplify (2.16)

x
e =cos(ix)−i sin(ix) (2.17)

After repeating the steps from section 2.1 we can now apply the solutions from (2.16) and (2.17) into

the identity for cosh(x) from (3.10) we get:

1 x −x 1
sinh( x) = (e + e ) = (cos(ix)+cos (ix)) (3.11)
2 2

cosh (x ) = cos (ix ) (3.12)

3.2 Properties

We know from the sinh section that the power series expansion of e x and e− x are:
∞
xn x x
2
x
3
x
n
e x =∑ = 1+ + + + …....+ +….. (2.20)
n=0 n ! 1! 2! 3! n!

∞ n 2 3 n
(−x) x x x x
e =∑
−x
= 1− + - + …....+(−1)n +….. (2.21)
n=0 n! 1 ! 2! 3! n!

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Hence, when we add these two together (instead of subtracting like we did for sinh) we get:
2 4 6 2n
1 x x x x x
(e + e− x) = 1 + + + + …....+ +…. , -∞ < x < ∞ (3.13)
2 2! 4 ! 6 ! (2 n)!

3.3 Inverse and derivatives:

The inverse of the cosh function is also expressed in terms of logarithms (Hyperbolic Functions:

Inverses):

1 x −x
cos (x)= (e +e ) (3.10)
2

2x = e y +e− y (3.30)
2y
e − 2xe y +1 = 0 (3.31)

e = x ±√ x −1
y 2
Since y is real, e y must be positive (3.32)

sec (x) = ln(x±√ x −1)

2
After taking logarithm of both sides (3.33)

However, the negative answer can be simplified:

x + √ x 2−1
ln(x−√ x −1) = x−√ x −1×(
2 2
) Multiplying by 1 (reciprocal) (3.34)
x + √ x 2−1

1
= -ln(x+ √ x −1)
2
= (3.35)
x+ √ x −1 2

hence we can rewrite the original equation for sec(x) as:

sec (x) = ±ln (x+ √ x −1)

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Inverse function shown (3.36)

Below we can see this inverse function csch(x) (3.37) drawn using Geogebra.

The function unlike its non-inverse counterpart, has two asymptotes at x=1 and x=(-1), and the

function is also not defined for x=0. The domain and range have the same minimums and maximums at

-∞ and ∞, except x cannot take on the value of 0, hence the domain and range are the same csch(x)

function; R=D: (-∞, 0) U (0, ∞). Rewrite this bit for cosh instead of sinh.

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Let us now find the derivative of cosh(x):

d x 1 x −x
cosh (x )= ( e +e ) (3.37)
dx dx 2

1 d x d −x 1 x −x
= ( (e )+ (e ))= (e +(−e )) Derivation using chain rule (3.38)
2 dx dx 2

1 x −x
= (e −e ) Simplification (3.39)
2

d
cosh (x )=sinh(x ) + C Proven
dx

Hence we have proven that the derivative of cosh(x) is sinh(x). It is also worth mentioning that, due to

the derivative of sinh being cosh (2.29)and vice versa (3.39), the any even order derivative (second,

fourth, etc derivatives) of either sinh or cosh will be the original function. Hence, even the integrating

either function “2n” (n∈ℕ)times we get the original function as our answer.

4. Applications:

4.1: Time dilation

My curiosity and research towards time dilation was the reason that I ended up choosing this IA topic,

hence I feel it would be very fitting to discuss the applications of the hyperbolic functions in

determining the feasibility of space travel, specifically looking at the impact that time dilation will have

on it. The function for time dilation (1.11)

c at
t (T )= sinh( ) (1.11)
a c

Here we have;

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t(T): The time elapsed from the perspective of an observer on Earth

T: The time elapsed from the perspective of an astronaut on the rocket

c: The speed of light approx 300,000,000 m/s

a: The constant acceleration we assume for our rocket.

The units used in the formula are in standard SI units, then the astronaut experiences 1 year passing on

this rocket, we first need to convert this to seconds:

1 year = 60×60×24×365 = 31,536,000 s

T = 31,536,000

Calculating the time passed for observers on the earth after the spaceship has traveled for 1 year:

(4.10)

(desmos)

Using desmos, we arrive at the answer that 1.02 years have passed on earth. We can now calculate the

time passed on earth in the following year (from the frame of reference of the rocket).

(4.11)

(desmos)

Hence after 2 years pass for our astronauts, 2.15 earth years would have passed. Continuing the

calculation, we get the full picture of the effect of time dilation, the results are tabulated below (3.12):

Time On Spacecraft (years) Time Elapsed On Earth (years)

1 1.02

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 2 2.14

3 3.51

4 5.27

5 7.60

6 10.8

7 15.1

8 21.1

9 29.5

10 41.0

15 214.0

20 1,115

30 30,260

50 22,278,279

100 3.28×1014

We can see from the table above (3.12), that there is very low feasibility of achieving space travel on an

intergalactic level (at least through conventional travel). There are 2 main reasons for this, the first

being that even after just 15 years, generations of people would have come and gone on the Earth, and

after 100 years on the spaceship, the sun as we know it would have died and become a dwarf star.

Communication would also be a big challenge, since we would be traveling at higher speeds than

modern communication systems can allow for reasonable time delay for responses. All of this is of

course only possible if we learn how to go beyond Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence:

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 2
E=m c (4.13)

and we do not have to supply an infinite amount of energy in order to reach the speed of light. However

the function has a huge limitation, since it does not limit the maximum speed that the object can travel

at. Hence the spacecraft would be traveling at speeds greater than the speed of light after 35 years,

which by our current understanding of physics is not possible.

4.2 Catenary curve

The catenary curve is a shape that can be observed all around us, it is the curve formed by a chain or

cable hanging between two fixed points with a uniform gravitational force acting on it (Catenary). The

shape formed has a central minima with a curve with positive gradient on either side, however the

shape formed when it is reflected over the x axis is also commonly found and is called the inverted

catenary curve. Let us derive the equation of this curve and show how it can be described in terms of

the cosh function:

W =m⋅g (4.20)

This is gives us the force of gravity “W” acting on the cable, where “m” is the mass of the cable, and

“g” is the acceleration due to gravity.

(fig.3)

(FZE)

Since “g” is distributed evenly across the entire cable, the horizontal tension across the cable is also the

same throughout the cable. “P” is an arbitrary point on the curve, and “T” is the tangent at said point,

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hence with “s” being the length of the curve from the base of the curve “A” and the point “P”, finally,

“u” is the mass per unit length of the cable. Hence we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the

relation between all the components:

T 2 = (T0)2 +W 2 (4.21)

Let us also define another constant “a” in order to simplify the equation:

a = ug ÷ T0 (4.22)

Therefore this allows us to simplify:

tan(θ) = W ÷ T0 = usg ÷ T0 (4.23)

tan(θ)
s= (4.24)
a

Now, we can use what we learned above in order to derive the equation of the catenary curve.

Since tangent on any point is T = tan(θ) :

dy
= a⋅s
dx
2
d y ds
= a⋅( ) (4.25)
dx
2
dx

Differential of the length of curve is given by (COMPUTING):

ds=√ (1+( y ')2)dx

Now we substitute this into the previous equation (4.25)

2
d y 2 dx
= a⋅√ (1+( y ') )( )
dx
2
dx

dy ' dy
= a⋅√ (1+( y ') )
2
Since y’ = we can simplify
dx dx

dy’ = a⋅√ (1+( y ') )⋅dx

2

dy '
= adx (4.26)
√(1+( y ' )2)
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If we now integrate (4.26) in order to express the curve in terms of x and y:

dy '
∫ = ∫ adx
√(1+( y ')2 )
sinh-1(y’) = ax Using the identity of sinh-1, and subtracting C

y’ = sinh(ax )

dy = sinh(ax ) dx

∫ dy=∫ sinh(ax) dx
y = ∫ sinh (ax )dx

1
y= cosh (ax) Using (2.29) along with the chain rule
a

x
y = a cosh ( )+C Equation of catenary curve (4.27)
a

This is the equation of the catenary curve, where “a” affects the slope of the curve based on weight, C

is the y intercept (constant of integration), finally, “x” and “y” are the coordinates of any poit on the

curve (FZE).

4.3 The circumference of a circle

https://www.ms.uky.edu/~droyster/courses/spring08/math6118/Classnotes/Chapter12.pdf

Page 8-10 of this pdf could be another application to replace the time dilation one.

5. Conclusion:

The hyperbolic sine and cosine functions have many similarities to the regular sine and cosine

functions, however they offer non euclidean applications as well and hence, are more useful in certain

situations. Like the sine and cosine function, they too have real world applications and can be used to

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describe phenomena around us. This essay only offers a brief introduction to the topic, and cannot

possibly apply these functions to their fullest due to limitations of my own mathematical ability. Due to

the non-euclidean and imaginary dimensions opened up by hyperbolic trigonometry, and hence in the

world of mathematics, sciences and engineering, offer great scope for research.

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Citations:

“Power Series Expansion for Hyperbolic Sine Function.” ProofWiki,

proofwiki.org/wiki/Power_Series_Expansion_for_Hyperbolic_Sine_Function. Accessed 8 Feb. 2024.

“COMPUTING THE ARC LENGTH OF A DIFFERENTIABLE FUNCTION ON A CLOSED

INTERVAL.” Arc Length of Differentiable Functions on a Closed Interval,

www.math.ucdavis.edu/~kouba/CalcTwoDIRECTORY/arclengthdirectory/ArcLength.html. Accessed 2

Mar. 2024.

FZE, Business Bliss. “Derivation and Geometry of the Catenary Curve.” UKEssays, UK Essays, 6 Nov.

2023, www.ukessays.com/essays/mathematics/derivation-and-geometry-of-the-catenary-curve.php.

Power Series Expansion of Hyperbolic Sine Function, Power Series Expansion of Hyperbolic Cosine

Function, www.nabla.hr/CL-PowerSeries5.htm. Accessed 8 Feb. 2024.

4.11 Hyperbolic Functions, www.whitman.edu/mathematics/calculus_online/section04.11.html.

Accessed 8 Feb. 2024.

More on Hyperbolas, www.varsitytutors.com/hotmath/hotmath_help/topics/more-on-hyperbolas.

Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

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“Catenary.” From Wolfram MathWorld, mathworld.wolfram.com/Catenary.html. Accessed 2 Mar. 2024.

Hyperbolic Functions: Inverses,

metric.ma.ic.ac.uk/metric_public/functions_and_graphs/hyperbolic_functions/inverses.html. Accessed

21 Feb. 2024.

“Is Intergalactic Space Travel Possible?” IB Maths Resources from Intermathematics, 31 Oct. 2023,

ibmathsresources.com/2019/02/10/is-intergalactic-space-travel-possible/.

“Graphing Calculator.” Desmos, www.desmos.com/calculator. Accessed 21 Dec. 2023.

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