The butterfly effect — that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas — expresses the sensitivity of a chaotic system to initial conditions. Keep reading
Tag: chaos theory
On the Butterfly Effect
Fluid dynamics is a veritable playground of chaotic systems, but that doesn’t always translate to easy explanations, as Henry Reich points out in this Minute Physics video. The common metaphor Keep reading
Resonating on a Bounce
When we think of resonance, we often think of it in simple terms: hit the one right note, and the wine glass will shatter. But resonance isn’t always about a Keep reading
Printing in Glass
A group at MIT have created a new 3D printer that builds with molten glass. This allows them to manufacture items that would difficult, if not impossible, to create with Keep reading
The Fluid Dynamical Sewing Machine
Anyone who has poured a viscous fluid like honey or syrup will have noticed its tendency to coil like rope. A similar effect is observed when a viscous fluid stream Keep reading
Chaos in Suspension
In science, the term chaotic is used to describe a system whose behavior is highly sensitive to initial conditions. This means that the end state can vary widely based on Keep reading