Chaos surrounds us. Seemingly random events -- the flapping of a
flag, a storm-driven wave striking the shore, a pinball's path --
often appear to have no order, no rational pattern. Explicating the
theory of chaos and the consequences of its principal findings --
that actual, precise rules may govern such apparently random
behavior -- has been a major part of the work of Edward N. Lorenz.
In "The Essence of Chaos," Lorenz presents to the general reader
the features of this "new science," with its far-reaching
implications for much of modern life, from weather prediction to
philosophy, and he describes its considerable impact on emerging
scientific fields.
Unlike the phenomena dealt with in relativity theory and quantum
mechanics, systems that are now described as "chaotic" can be
observed without telescopes or microscopes. They range from the
simplest happenings, such as the falling of a leaf, to the most
complex processes, like the fluctuations of climate. Each process
that qualifies, however, has certain quantifiable characteristics:
how it unfolds depends very sensitively upon its present state, so
that, even though it is not random, it seems to be. Lorenz uses
examples from everyday life, and simple calculations, to show how
the essential nature of chaotic systems can be understood. In order
to expedite this task, he has constructed a mathematical model of a
board sliding down a ski slope as his primary illustrative example.
With this model as his base, he explains various chaotic phenomena,
including some associated concepts such as strange attractors and
bifurcations.
As a meteorologist, Lorenz initially became interested in the
field of chaos because of its implications for weather forecasting.
In a chapter ranging through the history of weather prediction and
meteorology to a brief picture of our current understanding of
climate, he introduces many of the researchers who conceived the
experiments and theories, and he describes his own initial
encounter with chaos.
A further discussion invites readers to make their own chaos.
Still others debate the nature of randomness and its relationship
to chaotic systems, and describe three related fields of scientific
thought: nonlinearity, complexity, and fractality. Appendixes
present the first publication of Lorenz's seminal paper "Does the
Flap of a Butterfly's Wing in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?";
the mathematical equations from which the copious illustrations
were derived; and a glossary.
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