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1 Imaginary Numbers
Imaginary numbers, I, are a set of numbers that exist outside of the real number set R. The
imaginary unit, i, is defined as the solution to the polynomial:
x2 + 1 = 0 (1)
There is no real number that can satisfy this equation and as such we use the imaginary
number i to do so. Solving equation (1) we can find the value of i.
x2 = −1
√
x = −1 = i
The imaginary unit can be treated just as any real variable. While it may be difficult to
grasp the concept√of imaginary numbers, it really is just a normal variable simply with the
specific value of −1.
2 Complex Numbers
Complex numbers, denoted C, are the intersection of real numbers and imaginary numbers.
Complex numbers take the form of z = a + bi, in which z is the complex number and a
and b are real numbers. a is the real component, denoted as Re(z), and b is the imaginary
component, denoted as Im(z). It is important note that Im(z) is a real number.
1
(a + bi) + 0 = a + bi (2)
(a + bi) ∗ 1 = a + bi (3)
(a + bi) + (c + di) = (a + c) + (b + d)i (4)
(a + bi) − (c + di) = (a − c) + (b − d)i (5)
k(a + bi) = ka + kbi (6)
2
(a + bi)(c + di) = ac + adi + bci + bdi (7)
2
= ac + (ad + bc)i + bdi (8)
= (ac − bd) + (ad + bc)i (9)
This covers many of the possible arithmetic operations of vectors. One that is left out is
division. That is because division is a slightly more involved computation. In order to divide
a complex number by another one, you first need to multiply by the complex conjugate. The
complex conjugate a complex number z is z̄. The complex conjugate had a real component
that is equal in magnitude, and an imaginary part that is equal in magnitude but opposite
in sign.
z = a + bi (10)
z̄ = a − bi (11)
With this in mind we can learn how to divide complex numbers. Lets take some complex
number, call it j, and divide it by another complex number, call it z.
j j z̄
= (12)
z z z̄
One may wonder, how does this help us? All we did was multiply the fraction by 1. It
helps us because a spicy little trick called the difference of squares.
Let’s take a complex number, call it p = a + bi, and its conjugate, p̄ = a − bi, and
multiply them together.
As you can see, a complex number multiplied by its conjugate is a real number, and that
real number happens to be the square of the complex number’s magnitude (complex num-
ber’s magnitudes are discussed more in the complex plane section). Returning to division,
and equation 12, the denominator is z ∗ z̄, which we now know is a real number. Dividing a
complex number by a real number is just like multiplying by 1 over the number. Therefore:
2
j jz
= (16)
z z z̄
jz
= (17)
kzk
1
= jz (18)
kzk
There are two important graphical components of complex numbers that we are con-
cerned with. Given a complex number, z, the angle that the complex number makes with
the positive axis is referred to as arg z. For any complex number
Im(z)
arg z = arctan (19)
Re(z)
The length of a complex number is referred to as the magnitude of the complex number.
This is computed just as a 2D vector’s magnitude.
p
kzk = Re(z)2 + Im(z)2 (20)