Mathematicians were disturbed, centuries ago, to find that calculating the properties of certain curves demanded the seemingly impossible: numbers that, when multiplied by themselves, turn negative.

Think back to elementary school during which you learned about a seemingly useless mathematical relic called prime numbers. Your teacher told you in class one day that they are special numbers, ...

It should be impossible to measure an imaginary number in the lab, but a group of researchers have found a way to do so. They produced the equivalent of a magnetic field of imaginary strength, meaning ...

In the mystic world of quantum physics, a team of Chinese scientists is proving that one of the field’s favourite imaginary tools might not be fanciful after all. Through a series of intricate ...

The 'imaginary' number shouldn't be possible, but turns out to be utterly indispensable. Rutherford and Fry wrestle with its perplexing power. Show more There is a bizarre number in maths referred to ...

The Curious Cases team get to grips with the very real uses of imaginary numbers. Show more There is a bizarre number in maths referred to simply as ‘i’. It appears to break the rules of arithmetic - ...