Complex Numbers (Book)

Blog Calendar

◄ September ►
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30
Archive				RSS

About This Author

Contact Me

Come closer.

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.

http://www.ddewey.net/mandelbrot/

Signature for Honorable Mentions in 2018 Quill Awards

A signature for exclusive use of winners at the 2019 Quill Awards

Signature for those who have won a Quill Award at the 2020 Quill Awards

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

tj-Merry Mischief Maker

about 9 hours ago
In response to "Hot Shoulder"

Maybe if we say, "Betelgeuse" three times in a row we can witness it.

1 Like

tj-Merry Mischief Maker

a day ago
In response to "Trash Pandas"

Being an avid camper, keeping items out of the reach of raccoons can be challenging. We've had them figure out how to open coolers, open chests, and even gnaw through rope used to suspend a cooler out of their reach.

2 Like

🐕GeminiGem🎁

a day ago
In response to "Trash Pandas"

I wrote one of my Danger Dog stories based on a childhood camping trip that involved a raccoon stealing grapes from our cooler "Danger Dog's Camping Capers"

I had always heard that cockroaches will be the only thing that survives a nuclear war/apocolypse, but maybe it will actually be the raccoons.

4 Like

🌖 HuntersMoon

a day ago
In response to "Trash Pandas"

Just wait until we team up with the cats...

4 Like

Jayngle Bells

a day ago
In response to "Trash Pandas"

The back of my property is sheltered by buildings and cedar trees, so I live on a "racoon highway." Tinfoil works until one takes it for the team and moves it. The only scent that somewhat deters then is ammonia - but they alter their path within the already preferred walkway, not avoid it completely. They generally leave the garbage bin alone, but that's because of the bears, not because of anything we do 😂

I've had more wildlife problems in the city than I ever did in the country. The first time I saw a deer up close? In the middle of my street directly in front of my house. Probably looking for the trash panda party. Lol

4 Like

Annette

Dec 21, 2024 at 11:59am
In response to "Neutral Zone"

It made me happy that I was able to like it. I take the small victories.

1 Like

tj-Merry Mischief Maker

Dec 20, 2024 at 6:06pm
In response to "To Err Is Human"

Right from the beginning I find myself asking, "How many times can anything go extinct?" On a side note, the other day while shopping I saw a neanderthal in the produce section. He was trying to fit in with modern clothes, but it was pretty obvious he was a neanderthal.

1 Like

Annette

Dec 20, 2024 at 1:00pm
In response to "To Err Is Human"

Comments work.

"Like" button sends me this message:

Access Restricted

This is a private area. Access has been restricted and you may not view it under its current settings. If you feel you should have access, please contact the area's owner and request access.

Note: To contact a member via email, click the small envelope icon to the right of their handle. You must be logged into your account to send an email.

2 Like

Annette

Dec 20, 2024 at 12:58pm
In response to "To Err Is Human"

Can I leave this comment?

Wordsmitty ✍️

Dec 19, 2024 at 9:03pm
In response to "Five Seconds"

Way, way back when I was little, it was a three second rule that I remember. Sometime since it was upped to five seconds because of all the chemical preservatives that are pumped into everything now.

1 Like

September 15, 2024 at 10:44am

#1076824

Revisited: "Gotta be Aliens"

In rooting through the archives at random, I pulled out this entry from early 2020: "Gotta be Aliens"

The linked article,

from aeon, is still available as of this post.

The entry was, apparently, one of my earlier attempts to criticize popular coverage of the sciences involved in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Today, I'm going to talk about aliens again.

I checked, and I'd had ET or ET-adjacent entries at least twice before in that month, but it certainly hadn't taken over my blog.

If these topics seem random, that's because they are, in part.

I don't choose articles at random to put into my queue. I add to it when I come across (or someone sends me) something I find interesting or might have something to quibble or laugh about. It's the order in which I draw from the queue which is random.

In this particular case, the linked article plays off the question in its headline: how would we recognise an alien if we saw one?

One of the reasons I do this retrospectives is to see if things have changed, either in the world or with my own opinion. As far as the latter goes, I don't think I've changed my mind, and I'm pretty sure I've done several other blog entries supporting my view that complex life is probably rare in the galaxy.

In the world, things change all the time. One part that didn't age well was the part about someone saying that what would convince them that aliens were out there would be a photograph.

I said:

I'm not sure that would convince me. After all, photographs can be faked, and the technology needed to fake them is widespread and always getting cheaper.

Since then, we have of course seen an explosion in what's commonly called AI, making it way easier and cheaper to fake a photograph of an alien (or anything). Because discovery of any sort of life elsewhere than on Earth would be such a Big Deal, there would need to be multiple kinds of robust evidence for such a discovery to be accepted.

The rest? Like I said, I haven't changed my opinions on the subject.

3 Like • Comment

© Copyright 2024 Waltz Invictus (UN: cathartes02 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Waltz Invictus has granted InkSpot.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.