In mathematics, the absolute value (or modulus) | a | of a real number a is the non-negative value of a without regard to its sign. Namely, | a | = a for a positive a, | a | = −a for a negative a, and | 0 | = 0. For example, the absolute value of 3 is 3, and the absolute value of −3 is also 3. The absolute value of a number may be thought of as its distance from zero.
Generalizations of the absolute value for real numbers occur in a wide variety of mathematical settings. For example an absolute value is also defined for the complex numbers, the quaternions, ordered rings, fields and vector spaces. The absolute value is closely related to the notions of magnitude, distance, and norm in various mathematical and physical contexts.
Read more about Absolute Value: Terminology and Notation, Absolute Value Function, Distance
Famous quotes containing the word absolute:
“In our science and philosophy, even, there is commonly no true and absolute account of things. The spirit of sect and bigotry has planted its hoof amid the stars. You have only to discuss the problem, whether the stars are inhabited or not, in order to discover it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)