I'm not sure if this is the forum for this but here goes:
In pre-calc were doing equations of circles, anyway have come up with
the equation for a circle that involves taking the square root of a
negative number to determine the radius. Don't know how to handle
this, thought some of you computer science/math guys might know.
Regards,
Solar^

Solar^ wrote:
isn't the square root of a negative number irrational or complex? (Been
a *very* long time since I did this - about 30 years!)

"Gordon" <gordon@localhost.localdomain> wrote in message
news:MNKdnRJmHbjBJ0benZ2dnUVZ8qidnZ2d@eclipse.net. uk...
yes squ rt of -4 is 2i where i= sq rt of -1 (whatever that is!)

On Sat, 28 Jan 2006 18:39:19 +0000, Gordon
<gordon@localhost.localdomain> wrote:

Gordon,
Thanks for the reply. The resulting number would be imaginary or " i "
and I'm wondering if the radius of a circle can even be imaginary?
Regards,
Solar^

"Solar^" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:82ent1p3hf1jhd94gqekfmif37aqn98cet@4ax.com...
Take a look here
http://www.mat.bham.ac.uk/maths_exte...es/complex.pdf

section 9 is probably what you are looking for,the rest you should be
able to class as revision.
Do not forget--all you are doing is resolving a triangle--albeit
constrained,be carefull to asses your calc to ensure you have the result
you need (diameter or radii)
some other stuff
http://www.csun.edu/~ayk38384/math09...20Equation.htm

http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/m...29_circles.htm

remember a circle can also be enclosed by a square,thus the radius can
be determined.

Solar^ wrote:

imaginary numbers are often needed for calulating ...
\i recall a lot of it from when i was in engineering school...
some time in the previous century!

Solar^ wrote:
Is this a radius of an imaginary circle? As in one with a negative
area?

I like wikipedia's discussion of imaginary numbers, especially because
they point out that all numbers are abstract anyway, including zero and
negative and fractional numbers in some contexts. Thus the abstract
imaginary numbers which represent i as the square root of -1 in the
complex number equation a + bi are as real and useful for their
functionality as are all of the rest of the number abstractions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_number Imaginary number
http://www.math.toronto.edu/mathnet/...imaginary.html Do "Imaginary
Numbers" Really Exist?


--
Mike Easter

On Sat, 28 Jan 2006 12:59:01 -0600, philo wrote:

[flashback] My last term in engeneering was Spring 1966 at Michigan State.
Holy shit -- that's been 40 years now. They've probably discovered new
numbers that we didn't even know about back then. There's certainly lots
more for the physics and chem boys to know than there was back in those
days.


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://blinkynet.net/comp/uip5.html

Blinky the Shark wrote:

Wow! You old git!

:-)

"philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:xdadnd7k4dBpI0benZ2dnUVZ_vmdnZ2d@athenet.net. ..

On Sat, 28 Jan 2006 11:04:15 -0800, "Mike Easter" <MikeE@ster.invalid>
wrote:


Thanks for the reply,
I simplified the equation in the header just to find out if a circle
could indeed have an imaginary radius. I guess from all of the replies
that it can, if it is given that it is an imaginary circle to begin
with: the entire equation is as follows in case someone is interested:
x^2 + y^2 - 6x + 4y + 13 = 0
(x-3)^2 + (y+2)^2 = -2
so the center is C(3,-2) radius = square root of -2 or 2i
Thanks again guys, I'll see what the prof says on Monday.

On Sat, 28 Jan 2006 19:17:11 +0000, Gordon wrote:

You betcha!

Wrote my first program in 1965. Fortran. Punch cards.


--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
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Blinky the Shark wrote:
Wow! This takes me back! And: ALGOL, punch tape.....

On Sat, 28 Jan 2006 13:42:55 -0600, Solar^ <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:



Try newsgroup " alt.algebra.help ". Good people there.

On Sat, 28 Jan 2006 20:57:00 +0000, clot wrote:

And the business majors were doing COBOL.

--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
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Blinky the Shark wrote:
Yup and I never got to learn that one!

Blinky the Shark wrote:

Yep...
i wrote my first Fortran program in 1968...
hated those punch cards so much i stayed away from
computers for a good ten years...
but after i got my job...went back to night school
and took a few more courses...
although they did have terminals then...
i was still using those damn punch cards as late as 1979 or so!!!
stayed away from computers again for many more years!!!!

Those good old days were not so good!!!!

yep...I'm 7 years old ...

but in truth i was born in the first half of the previous
century...
now that's old

i sure remember those coal-burning steam locomotives well!!!!

philo wrote:
Shit. I'm still shovelling coal into the laptop to get it going.

In news:_zRCf.68829$q4.44172@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net,
clot spewed forth:
I upgraded mine to a perpetual motion machine.

--
If at first you don't succeed, redefine success.