tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246131.post111689155595707975..comments2023-10-11T01:03:08.948+13:00Comments on Grabthar's Hammer: [General] Morning RambleHadynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07083326580987476180noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246131.post-1116913118884348002005-05-24T17:38:00.000+12:002005-05-24T17:38:00.000+12:00You guys suck you really do (I'm pretending I'm on...You guys suck you really do (I'm pretending I'm on talk back radio, and flaming when a well reasoned argument would do).<BR/>Firstly: i is not a pure as the driven snow kind of concept. We only use it cause it's applicable. Do students love learning about i? No, cause i sucks. The graph for square roots has NO solutions in the negative area, ergo no i plural.<BR/>As for real world examples of things Surely we only talk about voltage cause we've never seen these electrons (or fundamental particles). So the maths tells us what voltage is. And we are going to use this maths (which is not represented by a thing we can ever have a meaningful relationship with) to represent the negative times negative problem? Sounds fishy. Step back (I do this for a living):<BR/>If your friend takes 4 strawberries (something you can have a meaningful relationship with), then you can say you have lost 4 strawberries. Hence, negative 4 strawberries. Well, if you then find out the person was going to steal 4 strawberries off you twice, but never did, you'll be eight strawberries better off. Eight positive strawberries. Actually, bank accounts are better for illustrating this kind of thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246131.post-1116911663469410542005-05-24T17:14:00.000+12:002005-05-24T17:14:00.000+12:00Sorry to bust in on you pure mathematicians, but I...Sorry to bust in on you pure mathematicians, but I have to have my 2c as an engineer! I was going to come out swinging and lay into you pureheads, but I have to agree with all you're saying. Often you just have to accept things for what they are - e.g. it's better to bend your mind to accept imaginary numbers than try to bend imaginary numbers to your mind.<BR/><BR/>Having said that, as an engineer, we need real-world examples, as that's what engineers do. I guess, then, the use of the mathematics defines how it should be presented. If the use is for a real-world application, then a real-world example should be used. If it's not for a real-world application, or is a fundamental concept, then real-world applications or analogies should probably be left out, as they may confuse the issue later. As for imaginary numbers, unfortunately, engineers have to use them quite a lot (and we use <I>j</I> instead of <I>i</I>, because, as we all know, <I>i</I> is the symbol for instantaneous current). It's definitely more a tool than a reflection of reality though - I mean, what the hell is imaginary power??<BR/><BR/>Hmmmm...an application of two negatives making a positive is tough. Well, I guess there is the old AC current x AC voltage = Power. If current and voltage are in phase, even though they change in time from positive to negative the power is always positive (except for when the current and voltage are 0, when the power is also 0). When current and voltage are out of phase it gets a bit more complicated (and is one situation where <I>i</I>, er <I>j</I>, is necessary)! This is a pretty weak analogy, because the voltage/current isn't really going negative, it's just changing direction.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com