This article is about fields in algebra. For fields in geometry, see Vector field. For other uses, see Field (disambiguation).
In abstract algebra, a field is a nonzero commutative ring that contains a multiplicative inverse for every nonzero element, or equivalently a ring whose nonzero elements form an abelian group under multiplication. As such it is an algebraic structure with notions of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division satisfying the appropriate abelian group equations and distributive law. The most commonly used fields are the field of real numbers, the field of complex numbers, and the field of rational numbers, but there are also finite fields, fields of functions, algebraic number fields, p-adic fields, and so forthอ