Complex Numbers

[gslindstrom at gmail.com (Greg Lindstrom)]

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: "Lamonte Harris" <pyth0nc0d3r at gmail.com>
> To: python-list at python.org
> Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:11:14 -0500
> Subject: So what exactly is a complex number?
> Like in math where you put letters that represent numbers for place
> holders to try to find the answer type complex numbers?


Not quite.  Consider the square root of -1.  It's not real because you can't
square a real number and get a negative, so we define "i" (or, perhaps "j")
to be the square root of -1.  An imaginary number is of the form Ai, where A
is "real".  So 2i, -3.14i are imaginary.

Complex Numbers are of the form A + Bi  Where A and B are real (so they have
a "real" component and am "imaginary" component). So yo might see 2 + 3i,
etc.  You'll see them a lot in engineering.
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