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Wikipedia: Imaginary number
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An imaginary number is a complex number that can be written as ib where b is a real number and i the imaginary unit with the property that
i2 = -1. These numbers are called imaginary numbers because
where most complex numbers have a real component and an imaginary component, that is, are of the form a + ib, these numbers only have an imaginary component ib.
The imaginary numbers are exactly all those numbers that can be found on the y-axis of the complex number plane. They also coincide with all the complex numbers whose squares are non-positive real numbers.