Just as in all the other numbers systems we’ve seen, you can add, subtract, multiply and divide octonions. And just as with the quaternions, we need some special rules to govern how to multiply all ...

When you add imaginary numbers and real numbers, the two form complex numbers, which enable physicists to write out quantum equations in simple terms. But whether quantum theory needs these ...

If imaginary numbers have always seemed strange to you ... (as Jean-Robert Argand and Caspar Wessel independently did around 1800). Addition: To add two numbers such as 2 + 3 on the number line, you ...

Imaginary numbers might seem like unicorns and goblins — interesting but irrelevant to reality. But for describing matter at its roots, imaginary numbers turn out to be essential. They seem to ...