| 释义 |
transcendental number A real or complex number that is not a root of a polynomial equation with integer coefficients. In other words, a number is transcendental if it is not an algebraic number. The first known transcendental number was Liouville's constant, though Cantor's work later showed ‘most' complex numbers are transcendental, as the algebraic numbers are countable. It can, though, be very difficult to show specific numbers are transcendental. In 1873, Hermite showed that e is transcendental; and it was shown by Lindemann, in 1882, that π is transcendental.
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