Chaos Theory Explained “Traditionally, scientists have looked for the simplest view of the world around us. Now, mathematics and computer powers have produced a theory that helps researchers to understand the complexities of nature. The theory of chaos touches all disciplines.” -Ian Percival, The Essence of Chaos Part I: The Basics of Chaos. Watch a leaf flow down stream; watch its behavior within the water… Perhaps it will sit upon the surface, gently twirling along with the current, dancing around eddies, slightly spinning, then all of a sudden, it slaps into a rock or gets sucked beneath the water by a small whirlpool. After doing this enough times one will realize it is nearly impossible to accurately …show more content…
In the last years of the 19th century French mathematician, physicist and philosopher Henri Poincare’ stumbled headlong into chaos with a realization that the reductionism method may be illusory in nature. He was studying his chosen field at the time; a field he called ‘the mathematics of closed systems’ the epitome of Newtonian physics. A Closed system is one made up of just a few interacting bodies sealed off from outside contamination. According to classical physics, such systems are perfectly orderly and predictable. A simple pendulum in a vacuum, free of friction and air resistance will conserve its energy. The pendulum will swing back and forth for all eternity. It will not be subject to the dissipation of entropy, which eats its way into systems by causing them to give up their energy to the surrounding environment. Classical scientists were convinced that any randomness and chaos disturbing a system such as a pendulum in a vacuum or the revolving planets could only come from outside chance contingencies. Barring those, pendulum and planets must continue forever, unvarying in their courses.2 It was this comfortable picture of nature that Poincare’ blew apart when he attempted to determine The stability of our solar system… For a system containing only two bodies, such as the sun and
Moving in a fluid mass, is typical of flocks of birds and schools of fish.
studying the individual subsystems e.g., Internet .Also in a complicated system we can predict the
Chaos theory engages with the certain physical systems, which are extremely sensitive to the changes in initial conditions. The equations describing a system are highly interdependent. Therefore, even a small change in the system can result in a large effect on the later condition of the system. Since it is impossible to measure all the initial parameters exactly, the trajectory of the system’s operation is inherently indeterminate. That is, this theory is represented by the interdependence among constituents of a system and the uncertainty of the possible conditions of its stages of development. In the highly complex interrelatedness and indeterminacy, this cosmos evolves as a self-organizing creation through “the interplay of chance and law.” In that sense, as Ilya Prigogine and Stuart Kauffman hold, our cosmos is in the continuous process of the emergence of complexity and order in nonlinear systems at the edge of chaos. The dissipations and emergences of complexity and order in nonlinear systems go on and on in this cosmos. “Every beginning is a beginning-again.”
waves to larger waves. When the water starts to move it is subject to the Coriolis
“It has been said something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.” ~ Chaos Theory
The first pendulum clocks had a width of range 100 degrees and analysts wanted to increase that range but Huygens showed that increasing the range of pendulum swing will decrease its accuracy. Then clockmakers realized that only pendulums with small range of swing of a few degrees are isochronous.
René Descartes was born on 31 March 1596 in La Haye, France; a city which was later renamed as “Descartes” in his honor. his early life was not well documented until 1960, but it is known that he was familiar with mathematics and philosophy (Hatfield). Sometimes described as “The Father of Modern Philosophy”, not only considered a great philosopher, but also a great mathematician, contributed greatly for both areas – Cartesian geometry, for instance, was named in his honor (Norman 19). In his Meditations, Descartes uses a causal argumentation to prove the existence of a perfect being, who he considers to be God; these conclusions are controversial, since problems can be found in the arguments used (Hartfield). Based on the arguments used to draw his conclusions, this essay is going to discuss some apparent flaws in Descartes’s causal
In Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes takes the reader through a methodological exercise in philosophical enquiry. After stripping the intellect of all doubtful and false beliefs, he re-examines the nature and structure of being in an attempt to secure a universally valid epistemology free from skepticism. Hoping for the successful reconciliation of science and theology, Descartes works to reconstruct a new foundation of absolute and certain truth to act as a catalyst for future scientific research by “showing that a mathematical [rational-objective] physics of the world is attainable by creatures with our intellectual capacities and faculties” (Shand 1994, p.
“If not enough change is allowed to occur, the system is said to be closed.”(Becvar & Becvar, 1999, p. 23) While there is no type of system which is entirely closed, there are some systems that lack beneficial energy or input to stay balanced.
Toward the latter part of the 17th century, a complete new view of the universe came into being. With the publication of Newton¡¯s ¡°Philosophiae Naturalis
The theory of mechanism held that natural processes were mechanically determined and could be explained through the sciences of physics and chemistry. It led the prominent thinkers to imagine and explain the universe in terms of operating as a great machine predictable, precise, and regular. Clocks shared these same characteristics, therefore, they became models of the universe for scientists and philosophers. One of the most noted philosophers agreeing with this idea was Rene Descartes(1596-1650).
“The novelty of these things, as well as some consequences which followed from them in contradiction to the physical notions … as if I had placed these things in the sky with my own hands in order to upset nature and overturn the sciences.”
A simple pendulum consists of a mass that is attached to a string of length ‘L’ that is fixed to a point, in this case, a cork suspended by a clamp stand. This allows the mass to be suspended vertically downwards and allows it to be displayed at an angle that it swings. A period ‘T’ of oscillation is the time required for one complete swing. For this to happen ideally its mass must swing from an angle that is
“I calculate the motion of heavenly bodies but not the madness of people” – Sir Isaac Newton (The Church of England Quarterly Review (1850), p. 142)
On the other hand, we cannot know whether Olber’s paradox was due to other unexplained phenomena of physics and must therefore require the development of knew knowledge to disprove it. The knowledge shown to be wrong by Olber however was