Why is there a complex number in the equation? Intuitively and mathematically:
Some ideas:
This useless video doesn't really explain anything, he just says "it's needed because the equation has an in it".
The real explanation is: they are not needed, they just allow us to write the equation in a shorter form, which is always a win: physics.stackexchange.com/questions/32422/qm-without-complex-numbers/557600#557600