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An example of chaotic dynamics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

R. C. Johnson
R. C. Johnson*
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Durham, DH1 3LE
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Extract

The article describes an accessible example of dynamical chaos which has been discussed recently in the Journal of Physics. It is simple enough to be explored by microcomputer at home or school. It concerns a point “billiard ball” bouncing round an ideal square “billiard table” that rotates steadily. Without rotation the ball's motion would be a perfectly regular sequence of straight-line transits; with rotation most of the motion is unpredictably jumbled—chaotic, as we'll see. First some simple theory is needed.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 74 , Issue 469 , October 1990 , pp. 256 - 260
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 1990

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