complex plane
1
7.1
- noun
- /ˈkɒmplɛks pleɪn/
- Specialized
:
plano complejo
- Mathematicians often use the complex plane to illustrate the relationship between real and imaginary numbers.
Yeah, If you go to the complex plane, yes.
- Yeah, If you go to the complex plane, yes.
Examples
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When graphing, each complex number is plotted on the complex plane to visualize its real and imaginary components.
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A phase represents on the complex plane a point on the unit circle.
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Some really beautiful mathematics appears when you consider transformations of the complex plane in this way.
Blog text (9) -
Every complex number can be represented as a point on the complex plane, where the horizontal axis shows real parts and the vertical axis shows imaginary parts.
Synonyms
A flat picture that shows numbers with a real and an imaginary part as points on two axes
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'plane' (a flat two-dimensional surface) is transparent, the adjective 'complex' here has a specialized mathematical sense ('relating to complex numbers') rather than the common sense 'complicated', so a B1 learner who only knows ordinary word meanings will likely not infer the correct meaning. This is a technical, subject-specific term whose correct interpretation depends on domain knowledge rather than straightforward composition of the common senses.
Etymology
Complex plane comes from a simple picture: a flat plane like a piece of paper where each complex number has a 'real' part and an 'imaginary' part and is shown as a point with a horizontal and a vertical position. So the complex plane means the flat graph where the 'real' values go along the horizontal line and the 'imaginary' values go along the vertical line.