>>>>> "Jay" == Jay Belanger <belanger@truman.edu> writes:
Jay> Raymond Toy <toy@rtp.ericsson.se> writes:
>> Currently, maxima says
>>
>> (C21) solve(x^4+1=0,x);
>>
>> 1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4
>> (D21) [x = (- 1) %I, x = - (- 1) , x = - (- 1) %I, x = (- 1) ]
>>
>> which is right, but I expected the answer to be powers of
>> (1+%i)/sqrt(2). I could add the rule
>>
>> tellsimp((-1)^(1/4), (1+%i)/sqrt(2))
>>
>> to get what I want.
>>
>> A bug?
>>
>> Ray
Jay> I wouldn't think so. (1+i)/sqrt(2) is only the principal value of
Jay> (-1)^(1/4), not *the* value. The principal value of complex functions
Jay> isn't always called for.
Yes, but then I'd have to ask why
sqrt(-1) is %i and not (-1)^(1/2)
Anyway Boris gave me a way to get the rectangular form which is good
enough for what I was trying to do (convert an elliptical integral to
one of the canonical forms).
Ray