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The imaginary unit i in the complex plane: Real numbers are conventionally drawn on the horizontal axis, and imaginary numbers on the vertical axis.. The imaginary unit or unit imaginary number (i) is a mathematical constant that is a solution to the quadratic equation x 2 + 1 = 0.
An imaginary number is the product of a real number and the imaginary unit i, [note 1] which is defined by its property i 2 = −1. [1] [2] The square of an imaginary number bi is −b 2. For example, 5i is an imaginary number, and its square is −25. The number zero is considered to be both real and imaginary. [3]
Imaginary numbers: Numbers that equal the product of a real number and the imaginary unit , where =. The number 0 is both real and imaginary. Complex numbers (): Includes real numbers, imaginary numbers, and sums and differences of real and imaginary numbers.
So one continuous motion in the complex plane has transformed the positive square root e 0 = 1 into the negative square root e iπ = −1. This problem arises because the point z = 0 has just one square root, while every other complex number z ≠ 0 has exactly two square roots.
Notation for the (principal) square root of x. For example, √ 25 = 5, since 25 = 5 ⋅ 5, or 5 2 (5 squared). In mathematics, the square root is the full inverse of squaring (the multiplication of a number by itself).
The radical symbol refers to the principal value of the square root function called the principal square root, which is the positive one. The two square roots of a negative number are both imaginary numbers , and the square root symbol refers to the principal square root, the one with a positive imaginary part.
[2] [3] The adjective real, used in the 17th century by René Descartes, distinguishes real numbers from imaginary numbers such as the square roots of −1. [4] The real numbers include the rational numbers, such as the integer −5 and the fraction 4 / 3. The rest of the real numbers are called irrational numbers. Some irrational numbers (as ...
A simple case arises in taking the square root of a positive real number. For example, 4 has two square roots: 2 and −2; of these the positive root, 2, is considered the principal root and is denoted as 4 . {\displaystyle {\sqrt {4}}.}