ideal element

British  

noun

1. any element added to a mathematical theory in order to eliminate special cases. The ideal element i = √–1 allows all algebraic equations to be solved and the point at infinity ( ideal point ) ensures that any two lines in projective geometry intersect

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ideal element

As the lightest metal on the periodic table, and the one most eager to shed its electrons, lithium is the ideal element to make powerful, portable batteries.

From Nature ● Oct. 27, 2015

In the water, their ideal element, I must say these animals swim wonderfully thanks to their flexible backbones, narrow pelvises, close–cropped hair, and webbed feet.

From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by F. P. Walter

The most serious defect of her poetry is also the most marked defect of her prose, and this is a want of the ideal element.

From George Eliot; a Critical Study of Her Life, Writings & Philosophy by George Willis Cooke

It is on the latter or ideal element that Kant makes the emphasis increasingly turn.

From Hegel's Philosophy of Mind by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Mr. Parker's ministry had three periods, in each of which the ideal element was the attraction.

From Transcendentalism in New England A History by Octavius Brooks Frothingham

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