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The Powers that Be (Posted on 2003-11-25) Difficulty: 4 of 5
Is it possible for two complex numbers to have a real exponentiation?

In other words, if x and y are complex (each have the form a+bi), show that x^y can have a real value, or prove that it is impossible.

Note: i is the imaginary value defined as the number that yields -1 when squared. a and b are any real numbers, but b is not 0.

See The Solution Submitted by DJ    
Rating: 4.4444 (9 votes)

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Possible real | Comment 19 of 21 |
x^y can take real values. For example
take x=i and y=i. Then
x^y=i^i(but i=e^iπ/2)
=> x^y = e^(iπ/2)*i=e^(i*i)*π/2 = e^(-π/2) which is real

  Posted by Praneeth on 2007-09-12 02:50:08
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