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Because there is no real number which you can square, which will result in a negative real number. So they came up with imaginary numbers, and denoted the letter i to represent the square root of negative one. At first, they were thought to be just that - imaginary - nonexistent, whose only purpose was to fill in and make equations solvable. But now these numbers are useful in solving equations which govern electrical waves and other types of wave motion.

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Q: Why is the square root of a negative number not a real number?
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Is the square root of negative 101 a rational number?

The square root of any negative number is not even a 'real' number. It's called 'imaginary', because there's no number you can multiply by itself to get a negative number. The square root of 101 is irrational.


Is non-real numbers exist?

no, every number is a real number --- There are numbers that are not real numbers. They are called imaginary numbers, and have the property that when they are squared, the result is negative. The square root of -1 is called i, and the square root of any other negative number is i times the square root of the absolute value of the number. So the square root of -4 is 2i.


Is the square root of negative 64 a rational number?

The square root of negative 64 isn't even a real number. In math and engineering, it's called an "imaginary number".


What is the opposite of a real number?

An imaginary number such as the square root of any negative number.


What is an imaginary number?

The square root of a negative real number is an imaginary number.We know square root is defined only for positive numbers.For example,1) Find the square root of (-1)It is imaginary. We say that square root of (-1) is i.In fact they are not real numbers.2) Find the square root of (-4)-4 can be written as (-1)(4)Square root of 4 is 2 and square root of (-1) is iSo, the square root of -4 is 2i.Similarly, we can find the square root of other negative numbers also.Source: www.icoachmath.comAn imaginary number is defined to handle square roots of negative numbers. The imaginary unit i is defined as the 'positive' square root of -1.