HR: 11:10h
AN: NG22A-04 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Dynamical systems as models for physical processes
AU: * Tsonis, A
EM: aatsonis@uwm.edu
AF: Prof. Anastasios Tsonis, Dept. of Mathematical Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee , Milwuakee, WI 53201-0413
AB: Those who try to explain the world we live in have always hoped that within the complexity and irregularity observed in nature, simplicity would be found behind everything and ultimately unpredictable events will become predictable. The fact that complexity and irregularity exists in nature is obvious; we only need to look around us to realize that practically everything is random in appearance. The question is: is this irregularity completely random or is there some kind of order underlying it? Over the past two decades physicists, biologists, mathematicians, and scientists from many other disciplines have developed the science of dynamical systems- chaos, fractals, cellular automata- in order to represent and study complexity in nature. In this talk we consider all the evidence and understanding that has been gained from the use of these new tools in providing original insights about physical processes.
DE: 4430 Complex systems
SC: Nonlinear Geophysics [NG]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005