Cover of An Imaginary Tale: The Story of the Square Root of Minus One

An Imaginary Tale: The Story of the Square Root of Minus One

by Paul J. Nahin · 1998 · 267 pages

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In An Imaginary Tale, Paul Nahin tells the 2000-year-old history of one of mathematics' most elusive numbers, the square root of minus one, also known as i, re-creating the baffling mathematical problems that conjured it up and the colorful characters who tried to solve them. Addressing readers with both a general and scholarly interest in mathematics, Nahin weaves into this narrative entertaining historical facts, mathematical discussions, and the application of complex numbers and functions to important problems.

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Subject
sciencehistoryeducationpopular science
Audience
adult
Length
medium · 267 pages

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