COMPLEX NUMBERS

In elementary maths, we’re taught that squaring either a positive or a negative number gives a positive result, so there is no such thing as the square – so, for example, -4, 10 and 1.75467. Although imaginary numbers enable us to solve problems involving square-rooting negative numbers, there are other problems that cannot be solved using either real or imaginary numbers alone. For this reason, the most universal type of number used to express the answer to any mathematical problem is a complex number: the sum of a real and imaginary number. Examples are 5 + 3, -2.7 + 1.2, and -999 -i. Just as real numbers are often thought of as lying on a line, with negative numbers to the left, zero in the middle, and positive numbers to the right, complex numbers can be thought of as lying on a plane, called the complex plane, with the real component measured along the horizontal axis and imaginary numbers along the vertical axis.