An imaginary tale : the story of [the square root] -1 / Paul J Nahin

<TABLE><TR><TD> <TD>List of Illustrations <TR><TD>Ch. 1 <TD>The Puzzles of Imaginary Numbers <TR><TD>Ch. 2 <TD>A First Try at Understanding the Geometry of [the square root of] -1 <TR><TD>Ch. 3 <TD>The Puzzles Start to Clear <TR><TD>Ch. 4 <TD>Using Complex Numbers <TR><TD>Ch. 5 <TD>More Uses of Complex Numbers <TR><TD>Ch. 6 <TD>Wizard Mathematics <TR><TD>Ch. 7 <TD>The Nineteenth Century, Cauchy, and the Beginning of Complex Function Theory <TR><TD>App. A <TD>The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra <TR><TD>App. B <TD>The Complex Roots of a Transcendental Equation <TR><TD>App. C <TD>([the square root of] -1)[superscript [square root of] -1] to 135 Decimal Places, and How It Was Computed <TR><TD> <TD>Notes <TR><TD> <TD>Name Index <TR><TD> <TD>Subject Index <TR><TD> <TD>Acknowledgments

Tells the 2000-year-old history of one of mathematics' elusive numbers, the square root of minus one, also known as i. This book weaves into the historical facts and mathematical discussions, including the application of complex numbers and functions to problems, such as Kepler's laws of planetary motion and ac electrical circuits