Glossary of Field Theory - Definition of A Field

Definition of A Field

A field is a commutative ring (F,+,*) in which 0≠1 and every nonzero element has a multiplicative inverse. In a field we thus can perform the operations addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

The non-zero elements of a field F form an abelian group under multiplication; this group is typically denoted by F×;

The ring of polynomials in the variable x with coefficients in F is denoted by F.

Read more about this topic:  Glossary Of Field Theory

Famous quotes containing the words definition of a, definition of, definition and/or field:

    “It’s a rare parent who can see his or her child clearly and objectively. At a school board meeting I attended . . . the only definition of a gifted child on which everyone in the audience could agree was “mine.””
    —Jane Adams (20th century)

    “... we all know the wag’s definition of a philanthropist: a man whose charity increases directly as the square of the distance.”
    —George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)

    “... if, as women, we accept a philosophy of history that asserts that women are by definition assimilated into the male universal, that we can understand our past through a male lens—if we are unaware that women even have a history—we live our lives similarly unanchored, drifting in response to a veering wind of myth and bias.”
    —Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)

    “Beat! beat! drums!—blow! bugles! blow!
    Through the windows—through doors—burst like a ruthless force,
    Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation;
    Into the school where the scholar is studying;
    Leave not the bridegroom quiet—no happiness must he have now with his bride;
    Nor the peaceful farmer any peace, plough his field or gathering his
    grain;
    So fierce you whirr and pound, you drums—so shrill you bugles blow.”
    —Walt Whitman (1819–1892)