Continued Fraction - Basic Formulae

Basic Formulae

A finite continued fraction is an expression of the form

where a0 is an integer, all other ai are positive integers, and n is a non-negative integer.

Thus, all of the following illustrate valid finite continued fractions:

Examples of finite continued fractions
Formula Numeric Remarks
All integers are a degenerate case
Simplest possible fractional form
First integer may be negative
First integer may be zero

An infinite continued fraction can be written as

with the same constraints on the ai as in the finite case.

Read more about this topic:  Continued Fraction

Famous quotes containing the words basic and/or formulae:

    I fly in dreams, I know it is my privilege, I do not recall a single situation in dreams when I was unable to fly. To execute every sort of curve and angle with a light impulse, a flying mathematics—that is so distinct a happiness that it has permanently suffused my basic sense of happiness.
    Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

    I don’t believe in providence and fate, as a technologist I am used to reckoning with the formulae of probability.
    Max Frisch (1911–1991)