Researched
Complex Numbers
Cardano's solution of the cubic equation (1545) forces mathematicians to compute with roots of negative numbers.
Open in the interactive tree →Bombelli set out rules for such 'imaginary' numbers in 1572, and Euler, Gauss and Argand made them respectable through the complex plane by the early 1800s. They simplify waves, circuits and rotations and are built into quantum mechanics.
Prerequisites
Unlocks
- Number Theory & Group Theory1801Gauss's proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra uses complex numbers
- Prime Number Theorem1896
- Quantum Mechanics1925Quantum wave functions are complex-valued