Imaginary Numbers

What is −1,√-1

A symbol thrust upon earthlings by an alien culture? Well, not quite... (unless you view mathematics
as representative of an alien culture... but we won't go there).

The "usual" numbers "normal" people work with are called real numbers. They include whole
numbers, fractions, decimals, negative numbers, square roots of positive numbers, and numbers like
pi (3.14159265...). They include basically anything that a calculator will turn into a decimal, or
anything that has a position on the number line.

But −1−−−√

does not have a position on the number line. There is no number we can square to get negative
one. Squaring a positive number always produces a positive number, and squaring a negative
number also always produces a positive number. So how do we square a number to get a negative
one?

Answer: We can't use a real number for −1−−−√

. We must use a different kind of number. The sixteenth century mathematicians who first seriously
worked with −1−−−√ weren't sure what its significance was, so they called it an imaginary number,
a very unfortunate term. In fact, there is nothing imaginary about −1−−−√

. (But it did take two centuries before mathematicians generally understood its significance.)

Today, we often use the symbol i

To represent −1−−−√. Mathematicians usually use one of two statements as the definition of i,
either i=−1−−−√ or i2=−1. (Some electrical engineers will use j instead of i, because they use
i

To represent inductive force, alias current. But the idea is the same.)

We don't need any other definitions for square roots of other numbers, having I is enough. For
instance, we can write −9−−−√=3i, since the square root of 9 is 3, and the square root of a negative
number will produce the number i

Classifying the New Types of Numbers

The collection of numbers created by taking square roots of the negative numbers are sometimes
called the pure imaginary numbers. In symbols, we might write a generic pure imaginary number as
bi

, the product of a nonzero real number b with the imaginary number i

. None of the pure imaginary numbers have a position on the number line.

We can also talk about adding a real number with a pure imaginary number. The result is called a
complex number. In symbols, complex numbers are numbers of the form a+bi

, where a is a real number, and bi

is a pure imaginary number.

If these numbers aren't on the number line, can we draw pictures of complex or imaginary
numbers? Actually, yes. But a one-dimensional number line will not sufficient. The pure imaginary
part of the complex number needs to be represented on a second number line. In other words, we
need a two-dimensional picture to represent complex numbers. Here is a picture of the
number 2+3i

, represented by a point.

So the real numbers are points on the horizontal axis. Imaginary numbers are those numbers which
are not real, and are located somewhere other than the horizontal axis. Pure imaginary numbers are
points on the vertical axis (other than the origin). Complex numbers include all possible points in
the picture. (Real numbers are complex numbers. So are imaginary numbers. Just like a whole
number is also a fraction.)

Epilogue

Couldn't this go on forever? What about i√

, for instance? Won't we need a j, or some other invention (er, dimension)? Well..., you can take
everything to extremes, but we won't need to. It turns out that the Square Root of i is another
complex number. We won't need a j. We won't need a third dimension for i√
www.milefoot.com

Ask Dr. Math: FAQ

What is an imaginary number? What is i?

Contrary to what some people might tell you, imaginary numbers are not numbers that only
exist in the brains of weird people. Or maybe they are; all numbers in math are "imaginary"
in the sense that you can't touch them or experience them directly.

But this is not what people mean when they talk about imaginary numbers. Imaginary
numbers are numbers that can be written as a real number times i.

So what is a real number, and what is i?

Well, the real numbers are all the positive numbers, negative numbers, and zero. These are
numbers like

5
-2.9
-4/3
0
1.11211211111221312211131122211113213211...

So the real numbers are the numbers that you probably already know: they're the ones on
the number line.

What is i? It's the square root of -1 (see footnote below). And it's NOT a real number. i was
invented because people wanted to be able to take square roots of negative numbers, and
you can't do that if you limit yourself to real numbers.

So we can make an imaginary number by taking a real number like 5 and multiplying it by i.
That gives us 5i. Some other imaginary numbers are
 37.3i
1.11211211111221312211131122211113213211i
Pi*i.

Note that the square of any imaginary number (except 0) is a negative number.

Complex numbers are numbers like 7 + .4i; they're a real number plus an imaginary number.

Footnote: actually, there are TWO numbers that are the square root of -1, and those numbers
are i and -i , just as there are two numbers that are the square root of 4, 2 and -2.

What are imaginary numbers used for in the real world?

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 Mark Jeffrey, BASc, MASc

Updated Feb 8 2011
Imaginary numbers combined with Real numbers form Complex numbers. The latter are used in
electrical engineering for the following applications:

 to describe AC (alternating current) circuits, specifically phasors [1],

 for data processing and compression, e.g. Fourier Transform [2],
 for Laplace Transforms [3], used in Control Systems, among other fields.

Phasors
The voltage of an AC circuit (for example, your home wall socket) is sinusoidal, varying from positive
to negative. To accurately describe this sinusoid, the engineer must state both its amplitude
(maximum height) and phase (horizontal shift). Through Euler's formula [4,5], difficult math
operations on sinusoids (e.g. adding two AC voltages, multiplying sinusoids, differentiating, etc.) can
be converted to simple operations on complex numbers.

Fourier Transform
Regarding data processing, consider specifically audio processing. In many applications it is very
helpful to determine the strength of frequency bands. A simple example is a tuner, used by musicians
to determine the intonation of their instrument. A tuner can convert the audio signal from its
microphone to the signal's frequency components using a Fourier Transform. Given the strength of
the frequency components, the tuner can indicate how close the musician is to playing a desired pitch
(e.g.A440Hz).

Krithika Kartik, studies at Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College, Delhi (2020)
Updated Oct 22

I will explain why imaginary numbers are of prime importance in the layman's world.

Before coming to imaginary numbers, we will wonder what math is, what numbers are and what a
negative number means.

Math is a tool to describe real life phenomenon. Cave people used to draw lines on walls to count
their possessions. Count itself is an invented concept. To simplify, counting numbers or natural
numbers were invented.

Later zero was invented. The concept of nothingness.

Further negative numbers were invented. If a farmer had five cows= +5, he sold all the cows= 0.
Then he borrows a cow from his neighbor=-1. There prime intention was to indicate a 2 featured
event in life, which were opposites:

 Profit loss
 Success failure
 Up down
 Arrival return
 Left right
 Life death
 Hot cold
 X & X'
 Good bad etc.

The symbols + & - are used.

This concept was very new. Even Euler had a hard time to understand this concept of negative
numbers. Negative is the new symbol and:

Minus into minus gave plus

This was to represent that after the opposite counterpart, you will reach the initial stage.

A number line was introduced to understand it better.

Even Euler had a hard time to understand the concept of negative numbers.

The concept of imaginary numbers

The new symbol iota I was introduced. And

i^4= +ve

Now there were four features to describe an event +, i, -, -i.

A number plane was introduced to understand the concept better.

As you moved from +ve to i,

i to -ve

-ve to -i

And finally -i to +ve

So unlike negative concept, the fourth round coincided with the first symbol.

Some examples are : (See examples are not analogues of complex number system, complex number
system is the analogue for these events)

 East to north, north to west, west to south, south to east.

 X to Y, Y to X', X' to Y', Y' to X
 baby to child , child to teen, teen to adult, adult has baby.
 Eggs to larva, larva to cocoon, cocoon to butterfly, butterfly to eggs.
 Breakfast to lunch, lunch to dinner, dinner to sleep, sleep to breakfast.
 Leap year (6h added every year to get 1 extra day in fourth year).
 4seasons: spring to summer, summer to autumn, autumn to winter , winter to spring.
 Bunk college classes to party, party to semester exam, semester exam to last min prep, last
min prep to again bunk college class

I don't know why we confuse it:

 Imaginary numbers should not be called imaginary so do “irrational” numbers. They depict
real world. In that sense, whole maths is imaginary! Call them iota numbers.
  Just like -ve sign shows opposite direction on number line, sqrt of -1 shows perpendicularity
in number plane. It states that this cannot be shown in 1D and another dimension is needed.
 Had we been taught about it in nursery …! Instead of number line, had we learnt number
plane we won't find iota numbers strange. Our mind has become very used to two symbol
numbers. Euler’s mind had also been used to one symbol numbers.

So in this way you can invent any superset of the number system for 6featured event(3D) or
8featured event(4D). But for universal acceptance, you should be able to prove mathematically why
it calls for another dimension. Also it should have some serious applications in engineering and
science. Just like iota numbers help in analysing 2d waves and harmonic motion.

Reference:

A Visual, Intuitive Guide to Imaginary Numbers

 Sridhar Ramesh, Former Ph.D. student in mathematical logic, UC Berkeley

Answered May 12 2011 ·
Upvoted by James Gay
Imaginary numbers, and complex numbers more generally, are nothing more than combinations of
scaling and rotation (see What is an intuitive way of explaining imaginary numbers?). Thus they are
used (explicitly or implicitly) in modelling any situation involving these concepts. In other words, in
any context in which the arithmetic of rotation (aka, "trigonometry") is relevant.

 John Gerig, EE
Answered Jan 7 2016
In electrical engineering and in some branches of physics, using complex number notation (numbers
with a real and an "imaginary" component) can sometimes reduce a whole page of calculations to
just a few lines. This saves time, paper, and makes errors less likely.
Christopher Reiss, BS in math, Putnam Rank 254 in 1990
Answered May 11, 2011
It is used in modern physics to model the dimension of time :

Reality Versus Imagination and Illusion

by Remez Sasson

The five senses make us feel that the world is real. Seeing the solidity of the objects around us, and
feeling their impact of the five senses, it is hard to deny the validity of what we see. Everything looks
real, and therefore, we never stop to question this reality.

The mind is attached to the five senses and accepts everything as real without questioning. When we
bump into a table or a wall, and we feel pain, it is difficult to say that we are imagining it. When we
see with our eyes, hear sounds, smell, or when we feel heat or coldness, we accept these sense
impressions as real.

It is said that the world is an illusion, Maya in Eastern terminology.

 Can we accept this idea when everything looks so real?

 Can we regard the world as a product of the imagination?
 Can we say that what we term reality is just imagination and illusion?

We need the five senses and the mind to be conscious of the world, which means that the world is
dependent on them. Without the five senses and the mind, the world does not exist for us.

The mind creates a world of illusion. By changing our thoughts, we change the illusion, and experience
a different reality.

If we say that a real thing is something that always exists, with no gaps, then the outside world is not
real. There are times besides sleep, when we are so busy that we are not conscious of what is going
on around us. When there are no sensory sensations, as while being in a floating tank, or when in
deep meditation, we are still conscious, but not of the world. This means that sometimes we are
conscious of the world, and sometimes we are not.

After we wake up from sleep, or get out of deep meditation and return to ordinary consciousness, we
feel that there was a gap in our consciousness of the outside world. There was no world at that time.
If we try to pay attention to our consciousness, we will come to the conclusion that the outside world
comes and goes, while the awareness of our inner consciousness never wavers.

The world exists for us only when the five senses and mind are directed towards it, and ceases to
exist for us when we silence the senses and the mind. During deep sleep, we do not experience the
world, because our five senses are not active. Can you prove the reality of the world while you are
deeply asleep? After you wake up from sleep, other people might tell you that the world existed, but
can you prove that these people existed while you were asleep?

After waking up, we may invent all kinds of theories to prove the realty of the world. However, these
are only mental theories. The fact is that during sleep the world was non-existent for us.

During sleep dreams seem very real, but upon awakening, we realize that they were just dreams. So
it is with this world we call reality. It is possible to wake from it too. Sri Ramana Maharshi, the great
Indian sage, has said that the difference between a dream while sleeping and the dream we call
wakefulness is only of duration, one short and the other one long.

Further to the above, each person interprets and relates to other people’s behavior, words and
attitudes in a different way, according to the contents of his subconscious mind. No one’s world is
like another. Again, we see the illusion at work. A world is created, based on our interpretation of
what we see, hear, and perceive through the five senses.

Today we would like to focus your attention on the topic of imagination. There are many who have
questioned the validity of their imagination. We would like to further expand upon this topic today
in hopes of helping you to understand more about the power of your imagination and why we
perceive it as being so very important.

We will begin by posing a question that has intrigued humans for quite some time; what makes
something real? We find that many refer to their imagination as something made up; in other words
something “not real”. If your imagination is real, then where do those actions you see in your mind
occur? Or is your imagination just in your head?

Many have come to rely upon their 5 physical senses to determine whether something is in fact “real”
or “fantasy”; if something can be heard, seen, tasted, smelled, or touched then this validates that
something is real within your reality. This is to be expected when living within a physical reality as
you do. However from our perspective we perceive the physical reality which you seemingly exist
within as being an illusion. Yet even an illusion is real to the perceiver, is it not? This topic is very
intricate and much more in depth than it may at first appear to be. The very question of what is “real”
and what is not “real” is the basis for all that you perceive, all that you experience, all that you give
value from your current perspective. We do not intend to speak in riddles or confuse you with the
complexity of this topic. Rather our intention is to both intrigue you as well as to clarify for you the
nature of your current “reality”.

As we have expressed many times before, this reality which you exist within is very different from
any others. The complexity of this reality is compounded by your free will to perceive, create and
experience whatever you wish. This reality of yours can be compared to a ball of clay; you are free to
mold it into any shape you desire. However it is only now that so many are awakening to the fact that
they are the ones molding the clay. In the “past” many had seemingly watched in amazement at the
varied ways this reality could be experienced blaming many of their experiences on chance, luck,
punishment or reward never realizing that it was they who were creating each moment.

Many have underestimated the power of their mind. Even though they have often heard the phrase,
“thoughts are things” many do not realize just how accurate a statement like this really is. What if we
were to tell you that every day dream, fantasy, concern, fear, each and every single thought you had,
instantly created a reality in which that event really did occur? This is mind blowing to some of you,
and some of you have already begun to realize the incredible power that you possess with just your
thoughts.

Many believe that they cannot do any harm by simply thinking. They have been taught that they
cannot control the thoughts in their minds and therefore are not responsible for them. We often hear
those who say “how can I be responsible for things that just pop into my head?” “It’s not like I actually
did them.” That may be true in this reality; however those thoughts were made manifest
“somewhere”. Realize the magnitude of this statement. We have spoken several times about parallel
realities. And this is yet another layer, another message which dissects this diverse topic just a little
more.

If we were to ask you to imagine sucking on a lemon, really imagine the taste as the tart juice rushes
through your mouth, the sour flavor that the lemon releases. Does your mouth not water? Do your
checks not pucker with this thought? And yet, you do not have a lemon in your mouth, you did not
just drink the juice. And so again we ask you, what makes something real?

Many of you “day dream” regularly about places you would like to go, what you would enjoy doing,
experiences you would like to have and yet when you are “snapped back” to “reality” you do not find
yourself in these places, or enjoying these activities. So you may wonder how can your imagination
possibly be real? To this we would reply, although you may not find that your current reality matches
the surroundings that you “imagined” yourself within, this does not mean that you are not
experiencing that reality in another “now” moment.

As we have said before, we do not experience linear time in the same way that you do. Rather we
choose to view time as a marker. We see “time” as being a string of now moments strung together.
You perceive them as happening one right after the other. However we perceive time as being much
like a page number in a book. It allows us to know what “page” to turn to, in order to find the
experience or “now moment” we would like to focus our attention on. We are free to focus on any
number of now moments regardless of the order. And so, from our perspective, the “you” that you
saw in your imagination enjoying that desired experience you wish to have, is just on another “now
moment” in another parallel reality. Only when your current vibration and beliefs align with the
necessary vibration will that reality which you saw in your imagination be drawn to you in your
current reality for you to experience consciously. However let us remind you that each and every one
of the “you’s” in each parallel reality equally believes that they are in fact the “real” you and all others
are simply just possibilities. You are the imagination of another you….

Your imagination is but a window into another reality. You may or may not choose to attract that
experience into your conscious reality; however regardless of whether you experience that event in
this reality or not, that event is still taking place to another “you” in another parallel reality. As we
have stated many times before, you are all shifting back and forth between many realities at any given
moment; however you perceive this shift from one “now moment” to the next as linear time. Your
motion pictures are a wonderful analogy for us to compare your experience to. A motion picture is
just that, it is the rapid movement of many still pictures placed in a row to create the experience of
movement which you perceive as linear.

Many believe that your imaginations are “not real” and in fact many have been taught to discredit
their imagination. Children are naturally gifted at using their imagination; it is only as they begin to
grow older and are taught to no longer use or develop their imaginations that the ability begins to
fade. For some, they have never lost the ability to vividly imagine and create intricate worlds using
nothing but their own minds.

We asked you a question in the beginning of this message. What makes something real? We will give
you our very simple answer. Your beliefs directly affect what you will perceive. Your perception is
what makes something real. However what you perceive is unique to each one of you, what is “real”
for one is not necessarily “real” for another.

We would strongly recommend that all of you begin to use the vivid creativity of your imagination.
Knowing that you are not simply pretending, you are actually creating. This is why we say chose your
thoughts wisely. You are wonderfully gifted creator beings. What is it that you wish to create today?

MANGALINO, DIANE B.
BSED 3MATH