Can Wolfram Alpha Handle Complex Inequality Solutions?

  • Thread starter Thread starter GreenPrint
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary
Wolfram Alpha struggles to provide solutions for complex inequalities, particularly when dealing with expressions that include both real and imaginary components. The discussion reveals that the original expression is always complex for real x, meaning it can never be negative, which complicates the attempt to find an x value that satisfies the inequality. Participants clarify that ordering complex numbers in this manner is not valid, as the concept of "less than" does not apply in the complex plane. The conversation also touches on the derivation of tangent and arctangent functions, emphasizing the importance of correctly applying complex logarithms and recognizing the periodic nature of these functions. Ultimately, the expression's real part remains positive, indicating that no solution exists for the inequality as posed.
  • #31


GreenPrint said:
lol sorry and thanks for your help!

What did you do here ?

( SQRT( 1 + #^2)SQRT( 1 + #^2) ) / ( (1 + #i)SQRT( 1 + #^2) )
(1 + #^2)/( (1 + #i)SQRT( 1 + #^2) )
(1 - ix)/SQRT( 1 + #^2)- >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>?
1/SQRT( 1 + #^2 ) - (ix)/SQRT( 1 + #^2)

How did you go from step 2 to 3 ?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #32


GreenPrint said:

Homework Statement



I was trying rewrite properly the tangent and arctangent function and was trying to figure out what values of the argument in the natural log was < 0 so that way I could simplify my formulas further because

i ln(-1) = -pi/2
and stuff of the sort

(-x i)/SQRT(x^2 + 1) + SQRT(x^2 +1)/(x^2 + 1) < 0
basically looking for the first x value that would make that a negative number

I'd say x=0 is the only answer that makes the expression a negative number (zero imaginary part) assuming you don't use the principal square root values. That is, use the function:

f(x)=-\frac{x i}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}} - \frac{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}}{x^2 + 1}

or:

f(x)=\frac{x i}{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}} - \frac{\sqrt{x^2 + 1}}{x^2 + 1}

where the root symbol means "principal value".

Also, Wolfram Alpha and Mathematica only use the principal value by default when evaluating a multi-valued function.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
Replies
10
Views
2K
  • · Replies 34 ·
2
Replies
34
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
4
Views
2K