This is my first question on this site, so please pardon any nuanced formatting errors.
My friend and I were discussing the following integral yesterday:
$$\int_0^3 \frac{1}{\sqrt{x-3}} \, \mathrm{d}x$$
I discovered that the integral evaluates to $-2i\sqrt{3}$ This confuses me. When I studied calculus 1, I was taught that the definite integral can be thought of as a way to calculate the "area under the curve" or the accumulation of a value. How can an area have a complex value?
Thus, I know that my conceptual understanding of integrals is flawed. How can I reconcile the concept of "area" with a complex value? Or, what is a "better" (for lack of a better word) way to conceptualize the integral?
Thanks in advance!
Answer
The truth is the concept in your mind (i.e., geometric area and integration) applies to real scalar functions with single variable, while you're not integrating a real function.
In your case, assuming the integrand function ($1/\sqrt{x-3}$) to be a real scalar function, it is not defined over the integration interval $(0,3)$. But, if you assume it to be a complex function like $f(z)=1/\sqrt{z-3}$, then you can integrate it over that interval, and of course, you will get an imaginary result since the function has pure imaginary values throughout the integration interval. Obviously, if you change the integrand function to $g(x)=1/\sqrt{3-x}$, then the result would be a real number equivalent to the geometric area you're looking for.
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