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Complex Numbers
Complex Numbers
A complex number is expressed in the standard form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is defined by i^2 = -1 (that is, i is the square root of -1). For example, 3 + 2i is a complex number.
The bi term is often referred to as an imaginary number (though this may be misleading, as it is no more "imaginary" than the symbolic abstractions we know as the "real" numbers). Thus, every complex number has a real part, a, and an imaginary part, bi.
Complex numbers are often represented on a graph known as the "complex plane," where the horizontal axis represents the infinity of real numbers, and the vertical axis represents the infinity of imaginary numbers. Thus, each complex number has a unique representation on the complex plane: some closer to real; others, more imaginary. If a = b, the number is equal parts real and imaginary.
Very simple transformations applied to numbers in the complex plane can lead to fractal structures of enormous intricacy and astonishing beauty.
September 12, 2018 at 1:21am September 12, 2018 at 1:21am
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It's hard to avoid people talking about the impending doom of Hurricane Florence, so I might as well add my voice to the babble.
No, I'm nowhere near the coast. Looks like the worst we'll get is a bunch of rain. Nothing new there; it's been raining more often than not all summer. I'm at a high spot and I have a sump pump and a backup generator. I also have a house surrounded by trees, though, so I might be boned anyway.
Some good friends of mine live in Raleigh, NC. They're boned.
I have a fondness for Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks. I'll miss them. It seems like a lot of the places I've been to have been hit by something. Maui got edged by a hurricane this year. Houston got famously waterlogged some time after I visited there. There's a great little pizza and beer place on St. Thomas that I still don't know if it survived their last hurricane or not. And California's going to get shaken up by the Big One any day now. (As an aside, I try to visit Mummsy and her family in central California every year. Since she moved there some years ago, I've experienced more earthquakes here in Virginia than she has. It's just wrong.)
Well, as long as Las Vegas is still- wait, what? The Colorado River is at historic low flows, and Lake Mead is dangerously dry? Well, fuck. I'd ship 'em some of our rain if I could. Let me tell you, if I ever hear another breath about "drought" around here, I'mma lose it at someone.
Also, thanks for the comments and "likes" from yesterday. I'm glad someone's still around.
Just to address a couple of things:
An apple a day....: I'm not published because I can't be arsed to get my shit together for publication, or write queries, or in any way attempt to promote myself. I don't know if that's a) fear of failure; b) fear of success; or c) laziness. Probably c), because I'm too lazy to be afraid of anything except work. Also, I don't feel comfortable promoting myself. If there's one thing I suck at - and actually, there are many - it's sales.
Harlow Flick, Right Fielder: I prefer grapes after they've undergone fermentation.
Leger~: Good to hear from you! |
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