Question

Do real life applications require the use of complex numbers and if so can you give an example.

Answer 1

i calculate my age using complex numbers ;)

Answer 2

You can take the square root of negative one using complex numbers. :P

Answer 3

Also, teachers can keep the children engaged using topics such as complex numbers that don't even have real-life applications.

Answer 4

^ That one is the only application I can think of.

Answer 5

So we don't see imaginary numbers in nature on real life applications?

Answer 6

Electrical engineering

Answer 7

Circuits and fluid dynamics

Answer 8

No, we don't.

@failmathmajor Electrical engineering is another place where we have teachers getting students engaged ;)

Answer 9

True I have seen just a little bit of complex numbers in my intro courses for physics in the subject of circuits but not enough to tell if that is something that I will face in real life.

Answer 10

Well, we use circuits in real life, so...

Answer 11

hahaha also true but I think we use digital circuits which is different from analog and that's where I've seen complex numbers

Answer 12

Complex numbers are used when considering solutions to problems that are modeled by certain differential equations which have a "rotation" in their solution. Example -- the stability of predator / prey models of populations.

Long story short, they are used in mathematical modeling all the time.

Answer 13

You can manipulate complex solutions to "coupled linear differential equations" here http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/18/18.03/s06/tools/LinPhasePorMatrix.html

Answer 14

Here is a beautiful illustration of the behavior of coupled systems of differential equations. http://vimeo.com/23839605

Answer 15

some data compression techniques (used by the internet) use complex numbers.

Answer 16

Cool video @mathteacher1729

Answer 17

Thanks, it is not my own creation, I'm not that awesome. (yet...) :-p

Answer 18

I think you are pretty awesome

He has a great LaTeX tutorial up on YouTube which I used to make a very cool maths report and it looks all mathematically professional and all