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The complex numbers are the field of numbers of the form , where and are real numbers and i is the imaginary unit equal to the square root of , . When a single letter is used to denote a complex number, it is sometimes called an "affix." The representation is called rectangular form, where is the real part and is the imaginary part. In component notation, can be written . The field of complex numbers includes the field of real numbers as a subfield.

The set of complex numbers is implemented in the Wolfram Language as Complexes. A number can then be tested to see if it is complex using the command Element[x, Complexes], and expressions that are complex numbers have the Head of Complex.

Complex numbers are useful abstract quantities that can be used in calculations and result in physically meaningful solutions. However, recognition of this fact is one that took a long time for mathematicians to accept. For example, John Wallis wrote, "These Imaginary Quantities (as they are commonly called) arising from the Supposed Root of a Negative Square (when they happen) are reputed to imply that the Case proposed is Impossible" (Wells 1986, p. 22).

Through the Euler formula, a complex number

in rectangular form may be written in polar form (also called "phasor" form)

The representation is also called exponential form. Here, is known as the complex modulus (or sometimes the complex norm) and is known as the complex argument or phase. The plot above shows what is known as an Argand diagram of the point , where the dashed circle represents the complex modulus of and the angle represents its complex argument. Historically, the geometric representation of a complex number as simply a point in the plane was important because it made the whole idea of a complex number more acceptable. In particular, "imaginary" numbers became accepted partly through their visualization.

The complex field admits no total order compatible with its field operations.

The absolute square of is defined by , with the complex conjugate, and the argument may be computed from

The real and imaginary parts are given by

de Moivre's identity relates powers of complex numbers for real by

A power of complex number to a positive integer exponent can be written in closed form as

The first few are explicitly

(Abramowitz and Stegun 1972).

Complex addition

complex subtraction

complex multiplication

and complex division

can also be defined for complex numbers. Complex numbers may also be taken to complex powers. For example, complex exponentiation obeys

where is the complex argument.

Angela Suba uses the terminology in the literary metaphor "Life is a complex with real and imaginary parts" (Suba 2012, quoted on Goodreads).

See also

Absolute Square, Argand Diagram, Complex Argument, Complex Division, Complex Exponentiation, Complex Modulus, Complex Multiplication, Complex Plane, Complex Subtraction, i, Imaginary Number, Lattice-Ordered Ring, Phase, Phasor, Real Number, Surreal Number Explore this topic in the MathWorld classroom

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References

Abramowitz, M. and Stegun, I. A. (Eds.). Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables, 9th printing. New York: Dover, pp. 16-17, 1972.Arfken, G. Mathematical Methods for Physicists, 3rd ed. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, pp. 353-357, 1985.Bold, B. "Complex Numbers." Ch. 3 in Famous Problems of Geometry and How to Solve Them. New York: Dover, pp. 19-27, 1982.Courant, R. and Robbins, H. "Complex Numbers." §2.5 in What Is Mathematics?: An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods, 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, pp. 88-103, 1996.Ebbinghaus, H. D.; Hirzebruch, F.; Hermes, H.; Prestel, A; Koecher, M.; Mainzer, M.; and Remmert, R. Numbers. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1990.Krantz, S. G. "Complex Arithmetic." §1.1 in Handbook of Complex Variables. Boston, MA: Birkhäuser, pp. 1-7, 1999.Mazur, B. Imagining Numbers (Particularly the Square Root of Minus Fifteen). Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.Morse, P. M. and Feshbach, H. "Complex Numbers and Variables." §4.1 in Methods of Theoretical Physics, Part I. New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 349-356, 1953.Nahin, P. J. An Imaginary Tale: The Story of -1. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007.Press, W. H.; Flannery, B. P.; Teukolsky, S. A.; and Vetterling, W. T. "Complex Arithmetic." §5.4 in Numerical Recipes in FORTRAN: The Art of Scientific Computing, 2nd ed. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, pp. 171-172, 1992.Suba, A. From My Pen, On Life. 2012. Quoted on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/530740-life-is-a-complex-with-real-and-imaginary-parts.Wells, D. The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers. Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, pp. 21-23, 1986.Wolfram, S. A New Kind of Science. Champaign, IL: Wolfram Media, p. 1168, 2002.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Complex Number

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Complex Number." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ComplexNumber.html

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