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- DictionaryCha·os the·o·ry/ˈkeɪˌɑs ˌθɪəri/
noun
- 1. the branch of mathematics that deals with complex systems whose behavior is highly sensitive to slight changes in conditions, so that small alterations can give rise to strikingly great consequences.
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Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of scientific study and branch of mathematics. It focuses on underlying patterns and deterministic laws of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions. These were once thought to have completely random states of disorder and irregularities. [1]
Chaos theory is the study of unpredictable behaviour in systems governed by deterministic laws. Learn about its history, applications, and concepts such as strange attractors, butterfly effect, and fractals.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Chaos Theory and The Secrets of Fractals
- Contradiction and Strange Attractors
- Additional Resources
- Bibliography
There are several surprising features buried in this unpredictability and chaos. They appear mostly in something called phase space, a map that describes the state of a system at various points in time. If you know the properties of a system at a specific "snapshot," you can describe a point in phase space. As a system evolves and changes its state...
The regular patterned weather system without the repetition of the same state seemed like an obvious contradiction. There was an attractor; i.e., the system had a preferred set of states. But the same state was never repeated. The only way to describe this structure is as a fractal. If you look at the phase space of Lorenz's simple weather system a...
Learn more about chaos theory with this explainer article from The Conversation. Read about Edward Lorenz in this short biography from the University of St Andrews. Explore the butterfly effect in more detail with this article from the science communication website Interesting Engineering. Learn more by listening to the episode"Is the Universe Real...
Escot Mangas, Lorenzo. "A brief methodological note on chaos theory and its recent applications based on new computer resources." (2020). Oestreicher, Christian. "A history of chaos theory." Dialogues in clinical neuroscience 9.3 (2007): 279. Ghys, Etienne. "The Lorenz attractor, a paradigm for chaos." Chaos (2013): 1-54. Williams, Garnett. Chaos t...
Jul 16, 2008 · The question of defining chaos is basically the question what makes a dynamical system such as (1) chaotic rather than nonchaotic. But this turns out to be a hard question to answer! Stephen Kellert defines chaos theory as “the qualitative study of unstable aperiodic behavior in deterministic nonlinear dynamical systems” (1993, p. 2).
Chaos theory is the study of systems that evolve from some initial conditions and exhibit sensitive dependence on initial conditions, topological mixing, and density of periodic orbits. Learn about the conditions, examples, and applications of chaos theory in various fields of science and mathematics.
Jul 10, 2023 · Chaos theory is a branch of math and physics that studies how small changes can lead to big effects in complex systems. Learn how scientists use chaos theory to understand phenomena from weather to brain function.
May 14, 2018 · Chaos theory is a scientific principle describing the unpredictability of systems that exhibit complex and erratic behavior. Learn about its origins, applications, and key concepts such as the Butterfly Effect and strange attractors.
