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Re: can't MATHEMATICA simplify simple expressions?

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg51552] Re: can't MATHEMATICA simplify simple expressions?
  • From: "Richard J. Fateman" <fateman at eecs.berkeley.edu>
  • Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 22:22:02 -0400 (EDT)
  • Organization: UC Berkeley
  • References: <cl4tg0$8g7$1@smc.vnet.net>
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

Maybe because you are wrong and it is right?
let a=-3. Then a^3 is -27.
but (a^2)^(3/2) is 9^(3/2) = 27.
At least by conventional interpretation of the symbols
you wrote.

In earlier versions of Mathematica, such simplifications
WERE done, leading to errors.

You might be able to do something with assumptions on the
value of a.


Cole Turner wrote:
> if I enter:
> 
> FullSimplify [ (a^2)^(3/2) ]
> 
> (in correct MATHEMATICA syntax, the program does not yield the correct
> result, a^3 ... 
> 
> why is that?
> 
> thanks!


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