Imagine that – Chinese scientists show how unreal numbers get real-world results
- Chinese researchers find the strongest evidence yet that imaginary numbers are fundamental to foundations of quantum physics
- Experiments show controversial fictional numbers can play a key role in describing reality

Through a series of intricate experiments, researchers have revealed the strongest evidence yet that imaginary numbers – invented centuries ago for the sake of pure mathematics and seemingly irrelevant to the real world – play an essential role in describing reality.
The team, led by quantum physicist Pan Jianwei from the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, confirmed that such numbers are a fundamental building block of quantum theory.
The work is “significant progress for testing the foundations of quantum mechanics”, the team said in an article in the journal Physical Review Letters published last month.
Imaginary numbers result from taking the square root of a negative number. Abstract as they may seem, they are a helpful tool used by mathematicians to solve complicated equations.