Appendix A

Complex Numbers

To becom e fluent
wit
h phasors and phasor manipulations
, on
e should hav e a soli
d
background ni th
e are
a of comple x numbers . There ar
e many goo d introductory
textbook
s on comple
x numbers; on
e such booksiComplex Variables and Applications
by R. V. Churchill
,J
. W. Brown , and R. F. Verhe
y (McGraw-Hill, 1976). Here, we
briefl
y summarize a fe
w importan t fact
s concernin
g the comple
x number s that ar
e
relevan
tot th
e comple
x algebr
a required for basi
c a
c circui
t analysis
.
The cornerston
e of th
e concep
t of a
n imaginary number come
s from the equation

j 2 = ~l (A.l
)

for whic h there si no rea l numbe r solution

. By acceptin g equation (A.l ) as the
definitio
n of the numbe r j, we ca n form an imaginar y numbe r lin
e by multiplyin g
j by any real number . A genera l comple x numbe rz si compose d of bot h rea
l and
imaginar y parts:z = x + jy, wher e x and y are both real numbers . This for
m of
comple x numbe rsi referre d ot as the algebrai
c or Cartesia
n form.t Isi a convenien t
form when we nee d ot ad d or subtrac t complex numbers .
It s
i ofte
n usefulot plo t comple x number s on atwo-dimensiona l planeas indicated
in Figure A. 1. Thi
s graphica l representatio
n leads us ot conside
r a pola r for
m fo rz .
The magnitud e of z s
i clearl y \z\ = \Jx2 + y2 an d the polar angle of z s
i given by
tan 6 = y/x. The graphica l representatio
n of complex number ss i extremely usefu l
for ensurin
g th e selection of th e proper quadrant fo
r 0.
Ther e s
i a third way o t expres s a comple
x numbe r know n a
s the exponentia l or
exponential-pola r form . This form s i th
e most relevan
to t th
e phasor technique and ti
is define
d as z = \z\ej0, wher e \z\ and 0 ar
e th
e sam e magnitude an d phase as ni th
e
polar form, respectively. To understan d th
e basis fo
r thi
s representation
, consider th
e
Taylor serie
s expansio n fo r ex\

ex = 1 + x + x2/2 + x3/3\ + • • • + xn/n\ + • • •. (A.2)

431
 Appendix A. Complex Numbers

Imaginary Axis

jy

Figur
e A.l
: The comple
x plane
.

Recal tj 2 = — 1, s
l tha tj 3 = —j an
o tha df = 1 .f e x wit
I we replac h j6 ni (A.2
)
and grou
p the term
s int
o rea
l and imaginar
y parts
, we arriv
e at
:

eje = [l-d2/2 + d4/4l-d6/6\ + - -] + j[6-63/3\ + 65/5\-67/1\ + • • •]

. (A.3
)
The first
ter
m ni bracket
s s
i jus
t th
e Taylo
r serie
s expansio
n fo s d an
r co d th
e
secon
d brackete
d ter
m s
i jus n 6. The relatio
t si n we hav
e jus
t derive
d s
i known a
s
Euler'
s equation
:

eje = co
s 6 + j si
n 0. (A.4
)

The exponentia
l for
m si quit
e convenien
t fo
r multiplicatio
n an
d divisio
n of comple
x
numbers
. Indeed
:

z = ZiZ2 = \zi\ejei\z2\eJ0i = \zi\\z2\e™+ei\ (A.5

)
Z\ z1\_e^=\z}\ JWi-h)
z= — = (A.6
)
zi 2le
|z \Z2\

There ar e severa
l usefu
l manipulation
s on comple
x numbers tha
t we wil
l us
e
in thi
s text
. We will ofte
n tak
e the rea
l an
d imaginar
y part
s of a comple
x number
:
x = Re (z ) andy = m I (z). Car
e must be use
d wit
h thes
e two operations
.fI
Z\ = x\ + jyx and Z2 — x2 + jyi the
n ni genera
l
: fc
Re(z,)Re(z
2)? Re(z
1z2). (A.7
)
Appendix A. Complex Numbers 433

The proo
f come
s directl
y fro
m th
e multiplicatio
n result
:
ziz2 = (x{x2 - y\y2) + j(x\y2 + x2y{). (A.8
)
Thus,

2) = xxx2 ~y{y2,
Re(ziz (A.9
)
= Z l) Re (z2) - m
Re ( I (
Z l) m
I (z
2). (A
. 10
)
By examinin
g th
e imaginar
y par
t of (A.8)
, on
e ca
n als
o easil
y see tha
t

Im(z1z2)^Im(z
1)Im(z
2). (A.11
)
A direc t consequenc
e of (A.9
) s
i tha
t yo
u ca n "pull
" real numbers n i and out of
the Re( ) operator
.fIy\ = 0, fo
r example n z\ = x\ an
, the d Re (x\z2) = x\X2 =
x{ Re (z2).
W e will denot
e the comple
x conjugat
e of z a s *
z and defin
e t ia s a numbe r
equa lni magnitud t z bu
e o t possessin
g th
e polar angl
e of opposit
e sign. Thus , fi
z — \z\eje = x +jy, then * J
z = |zk~° = x — jy. One use of thi
s definitio
n si o
t note
that
zz^\zW°\z\e^e = \z\2 = x2 + y2, (A.12
)
Let us conside
r a concret
e exampl
e o
t gai n some familiarit
y wit
h th
e abov
e
j45
concepts
. Let z\ = ~3 — j4 an 2 = 2e °
d z a
s indicate
d ni Figur
e A.2. The
n

jy

4-

2 -

4 1 1 1 1 1 / i i i i >.
^ 1 1 1 1 1 / i i i i *■
2 4 x
-4 -2 /

/ -2-
/ _4_

Figur
e A.2
: Graphica
l representatio
n o
f tw
o comple
x numbers
.
434 Appendix A. Complex Numbers

Re (z\) = —3 an I (z\) = —4. The comple

d m e z\ = — 3 + y'4
x conjugat . To conver
t
int
o exponentia
l form J = J x\ +y2 = 5 an
, we findIz d 6 = tan~](y\/xi) =
-1
tan (4/3) . We can us e a calculator , an
d take int o accoun t th
e fac
t that z\ sini
the thir
d quadrant,o t get 6 = —126.9° . Fro
m Euler' s equation we se e thatz2 =
2(cos45 ° +j sin 45° ) = y/2 +jy2. We subtrac t by using the Cartesia
n form :z\ —
zi = -3 + j4-(v^2 + j^) - -3( + \/2) + y ( 4 - y)^ = - 4 441 + 72.586.Finally
,
we divide by using the polar form: z\/zi = (5/2)ej[~l26-9~45°] = 2.5e~jnL9\

Dril
l Exercise
s
1. Conver
t th
e followin
g number
sot exponentia
l form
:
(a) 5 + A (b
) 1 ) -3 + y/lj9 (d
2 - A (c ) -1 - 5j.
2. Conver
t the followin g number so
t Cartesia n form
:
(a) 3ejir/69 (b) 7eJl22\(c) 25e4-l7TJ, (d) -e~j/\
3. Plo
t th
e following number
s on th
e comple
x plane
:
jn5
(a)6y/le \ (b
) 6 - 5y
, (c
) 1
0 + 24y ) l3e~jU7r.
\ (d
4. Perfor
m th e specifie
d operation s an d expres s th
e answe r ni Cartesian form :
(a) (5 + 3j) * 2eJ45°, (b) 3ej7r/6 + 4e~jir/\ (c) le]m° / ( l + ;), (d) (7 + 5j) - 5ejl20°
5. Perfor
m the specifie
d operations and expres
s th
e answe
r ni pola
r form
:
( +j) * (2- + 3j), (b
(a) 1 )Ij + 4e*, (c) (1- + ;)/(
3 + 4;)
, (d
) 4- e^\