The purpose of this book is to provide students, practicing engineers and scientists with a treatment of nonlinear phenomena occurring in physical systems. Although only mechanical models are used, the theory applies to all physical systems governed by the same equations, so that the book can be used to study nonlinear phenomena in other branches of engineering, such as electrical engineering and aerospace engineering, as well as in physics. The book consists of two volumes. Volume I is concerned with single degree-of-freedom systems and it presents the fundamental concepts of nonlinear analysis. Both analytical methods and computer simulations are included. The material is presented in such a manner that the book can be used as a graduate as well as an undergraduate textbook. Volume II deals with multi-degree-of-freedom systems. Following an introduc tion to linear systems, the volume presents fundamental concepts of geometric theory and stability of motion of general nonlinear systems, as well as a concise discussion of basic approximate methods for the response of such systems. The material represents a generalization of a series of papers on the vibration of nonlinear multi-degree-of-freedom systems, some of which were published by me and my associates during the period 1965 - 1983 and some are not yet published."

The purpose of this book is to provide students, practicing engineers and scientists with a treatment of nonlinear phenomena occurring in physical systems. Although only mechanical models are used, the theory applies to all physical systems governed by the same equations, so that the book can be used to study nonlinear phenomena in other branches of engineering, such as electrical engineering and aerospace engineering, as well as in physics. The book consists of two volumes. Volume I is concerned with single degree-of-freedom systems and it presents the fundamental concepts of nonlinear analysis. Both analytical methods and computer simulations are included. The material is presented in such a manner that the book can be used as a graduate as well as an undergraduate textbook. Volume II deals with multi-degree-of-freedom systems. Following an introduc tion to linear systems, the volume presents fundamental concepts of geometric theory and stability of motion of general nonlinear systems, as well as a concise discussion of basic approximate methods for the response of such systems. The material represents a generalization of a series of papers on the vibration of nonlinear multi-degree-of-freedom systems, some of which were published by me and my associates during the period 1965 - 1983 and some are not yet published."

Discoveries of chaotic, unpredictable behaviour in physical deterministic systems has brought about new analytic and experimental techniques in dynamics. The modern study of the new phenomena requires the analyst to become familiar with experiments (at least with numerical ones), since chaotic solutions cannot be written down, and it requires the experimenter to master the new concepts of the theory of nonlinear dynamical systems. This book is unique in that it presents both viewpoints: the viewpoint of the analyst and of the experimenter. In the first part F. Moon outlines the new experimental techniques which have emerged from the study of chaotic vibrations. These include Poincare sections, fractial dimensions and Lapunov exponents. In the text by W. Szemplinska-Stupnicka the relation between the new chaotic phenomena and classical perturbation techniques is explored for the first time. In the third part G. Iooss presents methods of analysis for the calculations of bifurcations in nonlinear systems based on modern geometric mathematical concepts.

During the last twenty years, a large number of books on nonlinear chaotic dynamics in deterministic dynamical systems have appeared. These academic tomes are intended for graduate students and require a deep knowledge of comprehensive, advanced mathematics. There is a need for a book that is accessible to general readers, a book that makes it possible to get a good deal of knowledge about complex chaotic phenomena in nonlinear oscillators without deep mathematical study. Chaos, Bifurcations and Fractals Around Us: A Brief Introduction fills that gap. It is a very short monograph that, owing to geometric interpretation complete with computer color graphics, makes it easy to understand even very complex advanced concepts of chaotic dynamics. This invaluable publication is also addressed to lecturers in engineering departments who want to include selected nonlinear problems in full time courses on general mechanics, vibrations or physics so as to encourage their students to conduct further study.