Mathematics for computer graphics----Numbers

        The nature numbers are used for counting,ordering and labeling and represented by the set N. When zero is added to the set, N* is used.

        A prime number[2,3,5,7,11,13....] is a natural number that can be divided only by 1 and itself, without leaving a remainder. Any positive integer(other than 1) can be written as the product of two or more prime numbers in one and only one way.

        Integers include positive and negative natural numbers,and are represented by the set Z,or Z* without zero.

        Rational or fractional numbers are numbers that can be represented as a fraction and are represented by the set Q.

        An irrational number cannot be represented as a fraction. Such numbers never terminate and are always subject to a small error when stored within a computer.

        Rational and irrational numbers together comprise the set of real numbers which are represented by the letter R,or R* without zero.

        Ordinary numbers are the everyday numbers we use for counting and so on, whereas complex numbers have a mixture of real and imaginary components, and help resolve a wide range of mathematical problems.

        A complex number is a number that can be expressed in the form a+bi,where a and b are real numbers and i is the imaginary unit, which satisfies the equation i*i=-1. In this expression, a is the real part and b is the imaginary part of the complex number.

Complex numbers extend the concept of the one-dimensional number line to the two-dimensional complex plane.