Algebra/Field/Direct/Definition

Field

A set ${}K$ is called a field if there are two binary operations (called addition and multiplication)

$+:K\times K\longrightarrow K{\text{ and }}\cdot :K\times K\longrightarrow K$

and two different elements ${}0,1\in K$, which fulfill the following properties.

1. Axioms for the addition:
   1. Law of associativity: ${}(a+b)+c=a+(b+c)$ holds for all ${}a,b,c\in K$.
   2. Law of commutativity: ${}a+b=b+a$ holds for all ${}a,b\in K$.
   3. ${}0$ is the neutral element of the addition, i.e. ${}a+0=a$ holds for all ${}a\in K$.
   4. Existence of the negative: For every ${}a\in K$, there exists an element ${}b\in K$ with ${}a+b=0$.
2. Axioms of the multiplication:
   1. Law of associativity: ${}(a\cdot b)\cdot c=a\cdot (b\cdot c)$ holds for all ${}a,b,c\in K$.
   2. Law of commutativity: ${}a\cdot b=b\cdot a$ holds for all ${}a,b\in K$.
   3. ${}1$ is the neutral element for the multiplication, i.e. ${}a\cdot 1=a$ holds for all ${}a\in K$.
   4. Existence of the inverse: For every ${}a\in K$ with ${}a\neq 0$, there exists an element ${}c\in K$ such that ${}a\cdot c=1$.
3. Law of distributivity: ${}a\cdot (b+c)=(a\cdot b)+(a\cdot c)$ holds for all ${}a,b,c\in K$.