CotM
← archive

Sensitive dependence on initial conditions

Experimentspost2012-01-31

This next demo highlights the butterfly effect. These curves show the same pendulum as before, this version has the time axis wrapped around the center of the screen and the exponential of the angle as the radius. All the pendulums start at a very similar initial position and for some driving functions they diverge wildly and others they all stay pretty close.butterfly effectButterfly-effect plot of pendulum trajectories on a radial time axis, curves tightly bundled near center with one diverging outwardButterfly-effect plot of pendulum trajectories on a radial time axis, forming a jagged star-shaped cluster of diverging curves