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number

(Encyclopedia)number, entity describing the magnitude or position of a mathematical object or extensions of these concepts. A real or complex number z is called algebraic if it is the root of a polynomial equati...

field, in algebra

(Encyclopedia)field, in algebra, set of elements (usually numbers) that may be combined under the operations of addition and multiplication so that it constitutes an additive group, the nonzero elements form a mult...

quaternion

(Encyclopedia)quaternion kwətûrˈnēən [key], in mathematics, a type of higher complex number first suggested by Sir William R. Hamilton in 1843. A complex number is a number of the form a+bi when a and b are re...

transfinite number

(Encyclopedia)transfinite number, cardinal or ordinal number designating the magnitude (power) or order of an infinite set; the theory of transfinite numbers was introduced by Georg Cantor in 1874. The cardinal num...

scalar

(Encyclopedia)scalar, quantity or number possessing only sign and magnitude, e.g., the real numbers (see number), in contrast to vectors and tensors; scalars obey the rules of elementary algebra. Many physical quan...

subtraction

(Encyclopedia)subtraction, fundamental operation of arithmetic; the inverse of addition. If a and b are real numbers (see number), then the number a−b is that number (called the difference) which when added to b ...

Dedekind, Julius Wilhelm Richard

(Encyclopedia)Dedekind, Julius Wilhelm Richard yo͞olˈyo͝os vĭlˈhĕlm rĭkhˈärt dāˈdəkĭnt [key], 1831–1916, German mathematician. Dedekind studied at Göttingen under the German mathematician Carl Gauss...

ring, mathematical system

(Encyclopedia)ring, in mathematics, system consisting of a set R of elements and two binary operations, such that addition makes R a commutative group and multiplication is associative and distributes over addition...

group

(Encyclopedia)group, in mathematics, system consisting of a set of elements and a binary operation a∘b defined for combining two elements such that the following requirements are satisfied: (1) The set is closed ...
 

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