Chaos Theory Simplified: Just Follow the Bouncing Droplet
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 - 20:21
in Physics & Chemistry
Two researchers have created a strikingly simple model of chaotic behavior, in which variations in initial conditions become so tangled and magnified by the system's dynamics that the outcome appears to be unpredictably random. The team, then based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), did this by bouncing a tiny droplet on a soap film, using an inexpensive speaker to drive the miniature trampoline. [More]