- Chaos Theory and Applications
- Vol: 3 Issue: 2
- Unpredictability, Uncertainty and Fractal Structures in Physics
Unpredictability, Uncertainty and Fractal Structures in Physics
Authors : Miguel A. F. Sanjuan
Pages : 43-46
View : 9 | Download : 7
Publication Date : 2021-11-30
Article Type : Other
Abstract :In Physics, we have laws that determine the time evolution of a given physical system, depending on its parameters and its initial conditions. When we have multi-stable systems, many attractors coexist so that their basins of attraction might possess fractal or even Wada boundaries in such a way that the prediction becomes more complicated depending on the initial conditions. Chaotic systems typically present fractal basins in phase space. A small uncertainty in the initial conditions gives rise to a certain unpredictability of the final state behavior. The new notion of basin entropy provides a new quantitative way to measure the unpredictability of the final states in basins of attraction. Simple methods from chaos theory can contribute to a better understanding of fundamental questions in physics as well as other scientific disciplines.Keywords : unpredictability, fractal basins, basin entropy