imaginary number

An imaginary number is a quantity of the form ix, where x is a real number and i is the positive square root of -1.  The term "imaginary" probably originated from the fact that there is no real number z that satisfies the equation z² = -1.  But imaginary numbers are no less "real" than real numbers.  The quantity i is called the unit imaginary number.  In engineering, it is denoted j, and is known as the j operator.

The unit imaginary number has some intriguing properties.  For example:

(-i)² = -1
but -i is different from i

i³ = i²i = (-1)i = -i

i⁴ = i²i² = (-1)(-1) = 1

i⁵ = i³i² = (i³)(-1) = (-i)(-1) = i

iⁿ = i^(n-4)
when n is a natural number larger than 4

As i is raised to higher natural-number powers, the resultant cycles through four values:  i, -1, -i, and 1 in that order.  No real number behaves like that!

The set I of imaginary numbers consists of the set of all possible products iw, where w is an element of the set R of real numbers.  Therefore, the sets I and R are in one-to-one correspondence.  The sum v + iw of a real number v and an imaginary number iw forms a complex number.  The set C of all complex numbers corresponds one-to-one with the set R ? R of all ordered pairs of real numbers.  The set C also corresponds one-to-one with the points on a geometric plane.

Imaginary and complex numbers are used in engineering, particularly in electronics.   Real numbers denote electrical resistance, imaginary numbers denote reactance, and complex numbers denote impedance.