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Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again)

From Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid>
Newsgroups comp.lang.python
Subject Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again)
Date 2013-10-10 14:12 +0000
Organization PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC
Message-ID <l36ckk$f2n$1@reader1.panix.com> (permalink)
References <mailman.937.1381411535.18130.python-list@python.org>

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On 2013-10-10, Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Oct 11, 2013 at 12:09 AM, Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> wrote:
>> BTW, one of the earliest things that turned me on to Python was when I
>> discovered that it uses j as the imaginary unit, not i.  All
>> right-thinking people will agree with me on this.
>
> I've never been well-up on complex numbers; can you elaborate on this,
> please? All I know is that I was taught that the square root of -1 is
> called i,

Nope.  "i" is electical current (though it's more customary to use
upper case).  "j" is the square root of -1.

> and that hypercomplex numbers include i, j, k, and maybe even other
> terms, and I never understood where j comes from. Why is Python
> better for using j?

Because that's the way we do it in electrical engineering. 

;)

-- 
Grant Edwards               grant.b.edwards        Yow! Are we THERE yet?
                                  at               My MIND is a SUBMARINE!!
                              gmail.com            

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Thread

Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-11 00:25 +1100
  Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2013-10-10 14:12 +0000
    Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-11 01:20 +1100
      Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Grant Edwards <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2013-10-10 16:54 +0000
        Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Christian Gollwitzer <auriocus@gmx.de> - 2013-10-10 21:08 +0200
    Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) William Ray Wing <wrw@mac.com> - 2013-10-10 11:36 -0400
    Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Ethan Furman <ethan@stoneleaf.us> - 2013-10-10 10:39 -0700
    Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed@ix.netcom.com> - 2013-10-10 20:13 -0400
    Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2013-10-11 17:01 +1100
    Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Nobody <nobody@nowhere.com> - 2013-10-11 12:21 +0100
  Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-10-11 01:27 +0000
    Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) David <bouncingcats@gmail.com> - 2013-10-11 20:35 +1100
    Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Oscar Benjamin <oscar.j.benjamin@gmail.com> - 2013-10-11 12:30 +0100
      Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Jussi Piitulainen <jpiitula@ling.helsinki.fi> - 2013-10-11 15:11 +0300
      Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2013-10-11 10:05 -0400
        Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2013-10-11 17:03 +0000
        Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Gene Heskett <gheskett@wdtv.com> - 2013-10-11 13:00 -0400
    Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) John Nagle <nagle@animats.com> - 2013-10-15 22:27 -0700
      Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2013-10-16 08:21 -0400
      Re: Complex literals (was Re: I am never going to complain about Python again) Dennis Lee Bieber <wlfraed@ix.netcom.com> - 2013-10-16 13:22 -0400

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