Title: 10_2 The Argand Diagram and Polar form
Course: HELM Workbooks 2023-2024 > Section: HELM 10: Complex Numbers

In the first part of this Section we introduce a geometrical interpretation of a complex number. Since a complex number \(z=x+i y\) is defined by two real numbers \(x\) and \(y\) it is natural to consider a plane in which to place a complex number. We shall see that there is a close connection between complex numbers and two-dimensional vectors. In the second part of this Section we introduce an alternative form, called the polar form, for representing complex numbers. We shall see that the polar form is particularly advantageous when multiplying and dividing complex numbers.