A Couple of Proofs of De Moivres Theorem

& My Favourite Piece of Maths

c
2008
Kai Reakes
De Moivres Theorem says:
(cos() + i sin())n = cos n + i sin n
where, we remember, i2 = 1. Ill prove this in two ways. Firstly by induction
(which is the way the syllabus says to prove it), and secondly using the exponential form of a complex number (which Ill also discuss). At the end I will show
what I think is one of the most beautiful results in mathematics.
Proof of De Moivres Theorem by Induction
We just show De Moivre for positive integer values of n. Remember we need our
starting step for induction proofs. For n = 1 we have:
(cos() + i sin())1 = cos 1 + i sin 1.
So De Moivre holds for n = 1. Assume now its true for n = k. I.e.:
(cos() + i sin())k = cos k + i sin k.

(1)

We want to show it is also true for n = k + 1, and then well be done. Consider
then:
(cos() + i sin())k+1 = (cos() + i sin())(cos() + i sin())k .
We now use equation (1), and sub in for (cos() + i sin())k on the right hand
side. Then we get
(cos() + i sin())k+1 = (cos() + i sin())(cos(k) + i sin(k)).
= cos() cos(k) + i2 sin() sin(k) + i sin() cos(k) + i sin(k) cos()
= cos() cos(k) sin() sin(k) + i(sin() cos(k) + sin(k) cos())
after expanding the brackets. Now, as you all know (without having to look it
up in your formula booklet, of course), sin (a + b) = sin a cos b + sin b cos a and
cos (a + b) = cos a cos b sin a sin b. So we have
(cos() + i sin())k+1 = cos (k + 1) + i sin (k + 1).
But this is just what we need, right? So by induction weve shown De Moivre to
be true for all positive integers n.
1

Exponential Form of a Complex Number

So we know that we can write any complex number z as z = a + ib, where a and
b are real numbers. From drawing a triangle in the argand diagram, we know it
can also be written as z = r(cos + i sin ), where r 0 and 0 2. In
fact, r is the length of the line joining
z with the origin (r is called the modulus),
so by Pythagoras Theorem, r = a2 + b2 . Also, is the angle this line makes
with the x-axis (going anticlockwise from the x-axis, by convention)( is called
the argument). So, by trigonometry, = tan 1 (b/a). In fact, with the same r
and , we can write z = rei , (and Ill leave you to try to make any sense of what
it means to have a power that is a complex number). So lets try to show we can
write z in this way.
Firstly, recall the Taylor (or Maclaurin) series for sin x, cos x and ex :
sin x = x

x3 x5 x7 x9
+

+
+ ...
3!
5!
7!
9!

x2 x4 x6 x8
+

+
+ ...
2!
4!
6!
8!
x2 x3 x4 x5 x6
ex = 1 + x +
+
+
+
+
+ ...
2!
3!
4!
5!
6!
These are also in the formula booklet. Lets plug in for x in the expressions for
sin x and cos x. And lets multiply the expression for sin x by i, just for fun. We
get:
5
7
9
3
i sin = i i + i i + i + ...
3!
5!
7!
9!
2
4
6
8

cos = 1
+

+
+ ...
2!
4!
6!
8!
Remember that i2 = 1. So, we see i3 = i, i4 = 1, i5 = i, i6 = 1, i7 = i,
i8 = 1, etc. Notice the pattern? So we can write the above expressions as:
cos x = 1

i sin = i + i

3!

+i

5!

+i

7!

+i

9!

+ ...

2
4
6
8
+ i4 + i6 + i8 + ...
2!
4!
6!
8!
Keeping up? Make sure youre happy with what Ive just done before moving on.
We can write these as:
cos = 1 + i2

(i)3 (i)5 (i)7 (i)9

i sin = (i) +
+
+
+
+ ...
3!
5!
7!
9!
(i)2 (i)4 (i)6 (i)8
cos = 1 +
+
+
+
+ ...
2!
4!
6!
8!
2

Adding together the two expressions above (well assume its OK to add together
infinite sums of numbers), we get:
cos + i sin = 1 + (i) +

(i)2 (i)3 (i)4 (i)5 (i)6

+
+
+
+
+ ...
2!
3!
4!
5!
6!

But if you look back at the Taylor series for ex , we see that this is just ei , i.e.
ei = 1 + (i) +

(i)2 (i)3 (i)4 (i)5 (i)6

+
+
+
+
+ ...
2!
3!
4!
5!
6!

So weve deduced that

ei = cos + i sin
which is called Eulers formula, (unsurprisingly, this is also in the formula booklet) and if we want, we can times through by r:
rei = r(cos + i sin ).
So we can indeed write complex numbers as rei .
Another proof of De Moivres Theorem
From Eulers formula, which we described above, we know:
cos + i sin = ei .
Taking both sides to the power n gives us:
(cos + i sin )n = (ei )n ,
and remembering that taking a power of a power, we multiply the powers (i.e.
(ab )c = abc ), we get:
(cos + i sin )n = ei(n) .
We use Eulers formula again:
ei(n) = cos n + i sin n,
and therefore we have De Moivres Theorem:
(cos + i sin )n = cos n + i sin n.
In fact, weve shown here that De Moivre is true for any number n, not just
positive integers, which is cool.

The bit youve been waiting for... Eulers identity

Lets use Eulers formula again:
ei = cos + i sin .
Put = , and remember that we have to use RADIANS here. Then sin = 0
and cos = 1, so we conclude that
ei = 1,
so taking the -1 over to the left hand side...
ei + 1 = 0,
which is called Eulers identity. Pretty cool, right? Who wouldve thought that
the numbers 0, 1, , e and i would be so intimately related? This one equation
uses the five most important numbers in maths (well, I think theyre the five
most important numbers), and the three most important operations (add, times,
powers), together with an equals sign. Amazing.