When dividing complex numbers, we can use the complex conjugate to make the denominator a real number, which makes carrying out the division much easier.
What is a complex conjugate?
How do I divide complex numbers?
When we divide complex numbers, we can express the calculation in the form of a fraction, and then start by multiplying the top and bottom by the conjugate of the denominator:
This ensures we are multiplying by 1; so not affecting the overall value
This gives us a real number as the denominator because we have a complex number multiplied by its conjugate (zz*" alt="z z to the power of asterisk times" data-mathml="<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><semantics><mrow><mi>z</mi><msup><mi>z</mi><mo>*</mo></msup></mrow><annotation encoding="application/vnd.wiris.mtweb-params+json">{"language":"en","fontFamily":"Times New Roman","fontSize":"18"}</annotation></semantics></math>" />)
This process is very similar to “rationalising the denominator” with surds which you may have studied at GCSE