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Joined 2 months ago
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Cake day: July 23rd, 2025

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  • I think it’s easier to conceptualize that i^2 = (-1). So, if we have something like sqrt(-9), we can only describe the root as 3i, and the square is (3^2 )*i^2 = 9(-1). Alternatively sqrt(-9)=sqrt(9)*sqrt(-1).

    If you look up “complex plane” you will see that one axis is real and one axis is imaginary, and the axes are perpendicular. If we have a term 3+4i (complex form a+b*i), then starting from the origin we move 3 to the right and 4 up. We often use the complex plane to describe periodic systems, where one full circle around the origin represents one period of oscillation. This allows us to visualize the magnitude of a complex value (sqrt(a^2 + b^2 )) and the phase angle (arctan(b/a)) of the state in a periodic system.

    It gets a lot harder to conceptualize imaginary values when we talk about time, but consider that gravitational waves, which influence time, are also periodic in nature so they can also be described in complex form, and the resulting effect on time can also be described in complex form.

    This is a really rough explanation and is definitely not 100% correct, but I hope it gets you closer to understanding the gist of imaginary numbers and why they are relevant here.










  • Buy a model from a renowned company/brand

    Unfortunately this doesn’t mean much in the realm of PSUs. Most reputable brand names have little to nothing to do with the PSU designs, aside from the stickers. They are simply ordering units from ODMs most have never heard of like CWT, FSP, XHY, Helly, Andyson, etc. and labeling them as their own product.

    Even within a brand name, different power supplies are made by different ODMs, and vastly differ in quality. Knowing the ODM doesn’t always define quality either, as the ODMs that produce high quality units for one brand also make lower quality units for other brands.

    The main exception is Seasonic, as they have their own manufacturing. Even then it’s not always true, as their lower end models are made by RSY and Helly, who generally make low-to-middle end power supplies.

    Sorry for the writeup, it’s just something I’ve looked into in the past.



  • I don’t know if an software engineering company’s relationship to clients is very fitting to this example of non-commercial end-user consumerism of physical products. I mean, I agree with you, but I don’t get the feeling your company does many physically shipped sales and your company probably mostly works other small companies.