Engineering Mathematics

Complex Numbers

No one “invented” complex numbers, but controversies surrounding the use

of these numbers existed in the sixteenth century.

In their quest to solve polynomial equations by formulas involving radicals,

early dabblers in mathematics were forced to admit that there were other
kinds of numbers besides positive integers.

Equations such as x2 + 2x + 2 = 0 that yielded “solutions” 1 + √−1.

But in the eighteenth century the number concept took a gigantic

evolutionary step forward when the German mathematician Carl Friedrich
Gauss put the so-called imaginary numbers—or complex numbers, as they
were now beginning to be called—on a logical and consistent footing by
treating them as an extension of the real number system.

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Even after gaining wide respectability, through the seminal works of Karl
Friedrich Gauss and the French mathematician Augustin Louis Cauchy, the
unfortunate name “imaginary” has survived down the centuries.

The symbol i was originally used as a disguise for the embarrassing

symbol √−1.

We now say that i is the imaginary unit and define it by the property i2= –1.

Using the imaginary unit, we build a general complex number out of two real
numbers.

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Example:

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Definition: Complex Number

A complex number is any number of the form z = a + ib where a and

b are real numbers and i is the imaginary unit.

In Electrial Engineering j is used as imaginary unit to prevent confusion with

the current (i) in circuits.

The real number a in z = a+ ib is called the real part of z.

The real number b is called the imaginary part of z.

The real and imaginary parts of a complex number z are abbreviated Re(z)
and Im(z), respectively.

For example, z = 4 −9i, then Re(z) = 4 and Im(z) = −9.

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Arithmetic Operations

Complex numbers can be added, subtracted,multiplied, and divided.

If z1 = a1 + ib1 and z2 = a2 + ib2, these operations are defined as follows.

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Example:

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Example:

Solution:

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Definition: Equality

Complex numbers z1 = a1 + ib1 and z2 = a2 + ib2 are equal, z1 = z2, if

a1 = a2 and b1 = b2.

In terms of the symbols Re(z) and Im(z), z1 = z2 if Re(z1) = Re(z2) and Im(z1)
= Im(z2).

The totality of complex numbers or the set of complex numbers is usually

denoted by the symbol C.

Because any real number a can be written as z = a + 0i, we see that the set
R of real numbers is a subset of C.

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Example:

Solution:

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Zero and Unity

The zero in the complex number system is the number 0 + 0i and

the unity is 1 + 0i.

The zero and unity are denoted by 0 and 1, respectively.

The zero is the additive identity in the complex number system

since, for any complex number z = a + ib, we have z + 0 = z.

Similarly, the unity is the multiplicative identity of the system

since, for any complex number z,

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Conjugate:

If z is a complex number, the number obtained by changing

the sign of its imaginary part is called the complex conjugate.

In other words, if z = a+ib, then its conjugate is

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Example:

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Example:

Solution:

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Inverses

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Example:

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Complex Plane

A complex number z = x + iy is uniquely determined by an ordered pair of

real numbers (x, y).

The first and second entries of the ordered pairs correspond, in turn, with
the real and imaginary parts of the complex number.

For example, the ordered pair (2, −3) corresponds to the complex number
z = 2 −i3.

Conversely, z = 2 −3i determines the ordered pair (2, −3).

The numbers 7, i, and −5i are equivalent to (7, 0), (0, 1), (0,−5),
respectively.

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The coordinate plane illustrated in Figure 1.1 is called the complex plane
or simply the z -plane.

The horizontal or x-axis is called the real axis because each point on
that axis represents a real number.

The vertical or y-axis is called the imaginary axis because a point on

that axis represents a pure imaginary number.
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A complex number z = x + iy can also be viewed as a two dimensional

position vector, that is, a vector whose initial point is the origin
and whose terminal point is the point (x, y).

This vector interpretation prompts us to define the length of the vector

z as the distance from the origin to the point (x, y).

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Definition: Modulus

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Properties

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Polar Form of Complex Numbers

A point P in the plane whose rectangular coordinates are (x, y) can also be
described in terms of polar coordinates.

The polar coordinate system, invented by Isaac Newton, consists of point O called
the pole and the horizontal half-line emanating from the pole called the polar axis.

If r is a directed distance from the pole to P and θ is an angle of inclination (in

radians) measured from the polar axis to the line OP, then the point can be
described by the ordered pair (r, θ), called the polar coordinates of P.

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Suppose, as shown in Figure 1.7, that a polar coordinate system is

superimposed on the complex plane with the polar axis coinciding
with the positive x-axis and the pole O at the origin.

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r can be interpreted as the distance from the origin to the point (x, y).

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Example:

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