Exponential form

Revision as of 17:57, 23 June 2006 by Solafidefarms (talk | contribs) (links)

Every complex number z is the sum of a real and an imaginary component, z=a+bi. If you consider complex numbers to be coordinates in the complex plane with the x-axis consisting of real numbers and the y-axis pure imaginary numbers, then every point z=a+bi can be graphed as (x,y)=(a,b). We can convert z into polar form and re-write it as $z=r(\cos\theta+i\sin\theta)=r cis\theta$, where r=|z|. By Euler's formula, which states that $e^{i\theta}=\cos\theta+i\sin\theta$, we can conveniently (yes, again!) rewrite z as $z=re^{i\theta}$, which is the general exponential form of a complex number.

See also