Chapter 07. Visualizing Algebraic Structure

In this chapter we continue to lay the foundation for quaternion visualization methods, examining first the geometric interpretation of the algebra of complex numbers and then extending that intuition into the quaternion domain. As we will see, the quaternion algebra itself has a geometric interpretation that includes complex numbers as a subalgebra, and the results of algebraic operations can be visualized using geometric methods.

Algebra of Complex Numbers

In our context, an algebra is a rule for the combination of sets of numbers. We encounter one particular algebra frequently in ordinary scientific computation: the algebra of complex numbers. The quaternion algebra is one of only two possible generalizations ...

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