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WP-34S Rectangular/Polar (Suggested Change)
04-06-2014, 07:35 PM (This post was last modified: 04-06-2014 08:48 PM by BarryMead.)
Post: #5
RE: WP-34S Rectangular/Polar (Suggested Change)
Walter:

Because the Rectangular/Polar conversions operate on the Atomic Unit(X,Y) much like complex operations
do. Both X and Y are of equal importance so saving only X (last x) only saves half of the information lost
during the operation. Even though the operation can be reversed by selecting it's opposite function the
end result will be reduced modulo (2Pi) in radians mode or modulo (360) in degrees mode, so there is a true
loss of information. The Atomic nature of the X/Y, Range/Angle pair is even more apparent now that the new
display shows the pair of numbers after the Polar/Rectangular operations. Many other HP calculators show
range/angle, X/Y on the same line and treat them as a single entity much like a complex number. Obviously
the WP34S breaks complex numbers into two parts, but saves both parts in L (and I). It just seems logical
to save both parts of the two-part Rectangular/Polar objects as well.

I just looked through the manual, and it appears that there is no mention of lastX behavior
regarding Polar/Rectangular operations (at least not in the IOP). There may be a reference somewhere
else in the manual that I didn't see.

Does this help?
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RE: WP-34S Rectangular/Polar (Suggested Change) - BarryMead - 04-06-2014 07:35 PM



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