imaginary part

American  

noun

Mathematics.

1. the coefficient b in the complex number a + bi.

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imaginary part British  

noun

1. the coefficient b in a complex number a + i b , where i = √–1

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Etymology

Origin of imaginary part

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

In the 1830s Gauss realized that each complex number—numbers that have real and imaginary parts, like 1 – 2i—can be displayed on a Cartesian grid.

From Literature

“Not Forgotten” kicks off imaginary part two, which sees the band setting their phasers to nostalgia and performing as if back in 1990 again, sharing a Madchester stage with The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.

From Washington Times

Thus, by averaging over many trials and performing a tomographic reconstruction, one can in many cases extract the real and imaginary parts of the full density matrix.

From Nature

These are convoluted mathematical objects that can be analysed using complex numbers - i.e. numbers with real and imaginary parts.

From BBC

Yet let’s remember that z can be any complex number, formed from a real part and an imaginary part: x+iy.

From Scientific American