Question about Mathematics from Zamiatin.

[Paul B. Gallagher]

E Wayles Browne wrote:

> Right. And then a complex number (kompleksnoe chislo) is what you
> get when you add a normal sort of positive or negative number
> (technical term: a real number) to so-and-so many imaginary units
> (mnimix edinic).

Yes. So an "imaginary number" is a complex number whose real part is 
zero, and a "real number" is a complex number whose imaginary part is 
zero. Then we can see that all numbers are complex, but some of them 
have zero real or imaginary parts. ;-)

> An irrational number (irracional'noe chislo) is a real number,
> nothing imaginary about it, but it's one that you can't express as a
> fraction (as a whole number divided by another whole number).

Actually, there's no reason an imaginary number can't also be 
irrational. Consider the square root of negative pi, for example.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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