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  • As with many other topics of advanced math, it depends whether your "real life" includes working in some engineering area, or not. If you work in electrical engineering or electronics, you will use complex numbers on a daily basis; similarly if you do a lot of math for some reason.
  • Complex Numbers (ones involving the imaginary unit 'i' which is defined to handle the square root of -1) are a convenient way to describe the behavior of some electric circuits and waves.
  • One thing you may encounter in your 'real life' are uninterruptible power supplies (UPS - what keeps your computer running when the power goes out). You will see ratings such as 500 VA / 300 W. This has to do with Complex Power. Electric circuits, which have inductances (such as Transformers and electric motors) or capacitors, behave in a way that is described by complex numbers. While Volts X Amps equals Watts, the 300 W is the 'real power' (the amount available to do work), and the 500 VA is the apparent power (the total power that the power supply is capable of producing). The reactive power (due to capacitance & inductance) is represented by the imaginary component and it is at right angles to the real power (represented by the real component).
  • Another use of complex numbers is in the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) - one of the most ubiquitous algorithms - used heavily for signal processing. If you have a digital camera, a cell phone, an LCD - FFT is there, bringing complex numbers along.
  • The complex equation w=z+1/z is a basic formula used for designing air foils-airplane wings and Figuring out flow forces around a circular object in water for instance.

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Q: What are the applications of complex numbers in real life?
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What is complex math?

Complex math covers how to do operations on complex numbers. Complex numbers include real numbers, imaginary numbers, and the combination of real+imaginary numbers.


What sets of numbers is not a subset of the real numbers?

The complex numbers.


The sum of two complex numbers is always a complex number?

A "complex number" is a number of the form a+bi, where a and b are both real numbers and i is the principal square root of -1. Since b can be equal to 0, you see that the real numbers are a subset of the complex numbers. Similarly, since a can be zero, the imaginary numbers are a subset of the complex numbers. So let's take two complex numbers: a+bi and c+di (where a, b, c, and d are real). We add them together and we get: (a+c) + (b+d)i The sum of two real numbers is always real, so a+c is a real number and b+d is a real number, so the sum of two complex numbers is a complex number. What you may really be wondering is whether the sum of two non-real complex numbers can ever be a real number. The answer is yes: (3+2i) + (5-2i) = 8. In fact, the complex numbers form an algebraic field. The sum, difference, product, and quotient of any two complex numbers (except division by 0) is a complex number (keeping in mind the special case that both real and imaginary numbers are a subset of the complex numbers).


Which of these are complex numbers 5 3i 1 2i?

All of them. Real numbers are a subset of complex numbers.


What are real life applications of real number system?

shopping, travel, measurements and money are the real life applications of real number system.

Related questions

What are Daily life applications of real numbers?

There are many examples of daily life applications of real numbers. Some of these examples include clocks and calendars.


What are the applications of complex numbers?

There are numerous applications; you should read the Wikipedia article on complex numbers for more examples. Some applications include: Get a better understanding of math. Even if you do calculations with real numbers, working with complex numbers often gives a greater understanding.Electricity, with AC, uses complex quantitites.Quantum physicsArt - ever seen the Mandelbrot set, or other fractals?There are numerous applications; you should read the Wikipedia article on complex numbers for more examples. Some applications include: Get a better understanding of math. Even if you do calculations with real numbers, working with complex numbers often gives a greater understanding.Electricity, with AC, uses complex quantitites.Quantum physicsArt - ever seen the Mandelbrot set, or other fractals?There are numerous applications; you should read the Wikipedia article on complex numbers for more examples. Some applications include: Get a better understanding of math. Even if you do calculations with real numbers, working with complex numbers often gives a greater understanding.Electricity, with AC, uses complex quantitites.Quantum physicsArt - ever seen the Mandelbrot set, or other fractals?There are numerous applications; you should read the Wikipedia article on complex numbers for more examples. Some applications include: Get a better understanding of math. Even if you do calculations with real numbers, working with complex numbers often gives a greater understanding.Electricity, with AC, uses complex quantitites.Quantum physicsArt - ever seen the Mandelbrot set, or other fractals?


What is the relation of complex numbers to real numbers?

Complex numbers are a proper superset of real numbers. That is to say, real numbers are a proper subset of complex numbers.


What is complex math?

Complex math covers how to do operations on complex numbers. Complex numbers include real numbers, imaginary numbers, and the combination of real+imaginary numbers.


What are imaginary numbers and how are they used in real life situations?

Imaginary numbers are a mathematical concept, first defined to handle the square root of negative numbers. At first, many mathematicians did not think very kindly of them, until Euler's formula in the 1700's, then later applications in electricity and wave analysis were recognized.Complex numbers are numbers on a plane, for which special which special operations are defined. Complex numbers have a real part, and an imaginary part.There are several practical applications; for example, electrical engineers use complex numbers for circuit calculations with AC. There are other applications, too; for example, in art (creating interesting patterns, called fractals - based on calculations with complex numbers). Quantum mechanics routinely uses complex numbers.The Wikipedia article on complex numbers gives a good overview.The Picomonster website has some cool animations which show complex and imaginary numbers 'in action', so to speak.


Set of real numbers and set of complex numbers are equivalent?

Real numbers are a proper subset of Complex numbers.


What is the difference between a complex number and a non real complex number?

Think of the complex numbers as points on a coordinate system. Instead of the usual x-axis you have the real numbers, instead of the y-axis, you have the imaginary numbers.The real numbers are on the horizontal axis.The imaginary numbers are on the vertical axis.The complex numbers are any number on the plane.The non-real complex are, of course, any complex numbers that are not on the real number axis - not on the horizontal axis.Think of the complex numbers as points on a coordinate system. Instead of the usual x-axis you have the real numbers, instead of the y-axis, you have the imaginary numbers.The real numbers are on the horizontal axis.The imaginary numbers are on the vertical axis.The complex numbers are any number on the plane.The non-real complex are, of course, any complex numbers that are not on the real number axis - not on the horizontal axis.Think of the complex numbers as points on a coordinate system. Instead of the usual x-axis you have the real numbers, instead of the y-axis, you have the imaginary numbers.The real numbers are on the horizontal axis.The imaginary numbers are on the vertical axis.The complex numbers are any number on the plane.The non-real complex are, of course, any complex numbers that are not on the real number axis - not on the horizontal axis.Think of the complex numbers as points on a coordinate system. Instead of the usual x-axis you have the real numbers, instead of the y-axis, you have the imaginary numbers.The real numbers are on the horizontal axis.The imaginary numbers are on the vertical axis.The complex numbers are any number on the plane.The non-real complex are, of course, any complex numbers that are not on the real number axis - not on the horizontal axis.


How are complex numbers and real numbers related?

Complex numbers extend the concept of real numbers by introducing an imaginary unit, denoted as "i." Real numbers can be considered a subset of complex numbers with the imaginary part equal to zero. Complex numbers include both a real and imaginary component, allowing for operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.


Can a complex number be imaginary?

Yes, imaginary numbers are a subset of complex numbers.


Rational and irrational numbers are complex numbers?

Rational and irrational numbers are real numbers. A complex number is represented by a+bi where a and b are real numbers. Zero is a real number therefore any real number is also complex whenever b=0


Is pi a complex number?

The set of real numbers are a subset of the set of complex numbers: imagine the complex plane with real numbers existing on the horizontal number line, and pure imaginary existing on the vertical axis. The entire plane (which includes both axes) is the set of complex numbers. So any real number (such as pi) will also be a complex number. But many people think of complex numbers as something that is "not a real number".


What is the difference between a set of real numbers and a set of complex numbers?

The set of real numbers is a subset of the set of complex numbers. For the set of complex numbers, given in the form (a + bi), where a and b can be any real number, the number is only a real number, if b = 0.