- #1
Swapnil
- 459
- 6
Yeah yeah, complex/imaginary numbers are as *real* as real numbers. Just like irrational numbers are every bit *rational* as rational numbers.
OK, so complex numbers are useful--very useful--but I think that a lot of people, including myself, still don't take them as a part of physical reality; they see them only as a mathematical abstraction. I mean, can you really make measurements in complex numbers? An ammeter can show that you have -1.333 amps flowing through your circuit, but it will never show that you have 8.2 - j3.2 amps flowing through your circuit.
Do you guys think that this uneasiness we feel using complex numbers would be better resolved if we would start using instruments that display measured quantities in complex numbers? Is such a thing even makes sense? It is possible? How much potential does this idea have?
I'd love to hear you guy's opinion on this and bring your perspectives on the table.
OK, so complex numbers are useful--very useful--but I think that a lot of people, including myself, still don't take them as a part of physical reality; they see them only as a mathematical abstraction. I mean, can you really make measurements in complex numbers? An ammeter can show that you have -1.333 amps flowing through your circuit, but it will never show that you have 8.2 - j3.2 amps flowing through your circuit.
Do you guys think that this uneasiness we feel using complex numbers would be better resolved if we would start using instruments that display measured quantities in complex numbers? Is such a thing even makes sense? It is possible? How much potential does this idea have?
I'd love to hear you guy's opinion on this and bring your perspectives on the table.
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