Poincare's Chaos
 by Anton Skorucak and ScienceIQ.com
|
 Jules Henri Poincare (1854-1912)
LANL
|
Over two hundred years after Newton published his laws of planetary motion the King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway sponsored a most unusual competition that would discover a whole new science.Competition promised a cash prize to a scientist that would answer this question: ‘How Stable is the Solar System?’. Contestants would basically have to use Newton’s laws of gravitation to mathematically show the stability of our solar system. Applying Newton’s equations was easy for two bodies, say the Sun and Earth, however as soon as one added a third body, say the Moon, the problem would become so complicated that even the best physicists and mathematicians of the time were not able to compute anything. They were not even able to predict the three bodies’ trajectories of motion. This so called ‘three-body problem’ was therefore at the heart of this competition. The prize was awarded ultimately to Jules Henri Poincare, one of the France’s leading mathematical physicists, even though he did not completely solve the problem and furthermore he showed what everybody was expecting the least. With his elegant math he showed that the three-body system behaved in a complex and totally unpredictable way. The Solar System, or at least his three-body approximation, was not stable at all, it was chaotic! Small changes in the initial conditions (such as planets positions and initial velocities) produced huge and unpredictable outcomes. His findings were ground stones for what we today know as chaos theory.
For more science facts like this one go to: ScienceIQ.com
|
Quick Poll
 |
|
|
|
'You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.'
Marie Curie (1867-1934)
|
|
| Xump.com Science Store |
Thermodynamic Drinking Bird
Remember this hard to find toy? The ‘Drinking Bird’ is back.
$5.99 $4.95 /each View details
6 inch Steel Bar Magnets, Pair
Set of two strong bar magnets for experimentation and classroom demonstration use.
$12.95 $9.95 /each View details
TK Little Labs: Physics
Learn about mechanical physics by building simple machines such as levers, gears, and pulleys. Discover force and motion.
$19.99 $14.95 /each View details
ScienceWiz Light Kit
The National Parenting Magazine Award Winner 'Wave Wiz Light kit,' is designed to teach kids about the marvels of light with a fun and insightful approach.
$29.99 $19.95 /each View details
Mars Picture CD
Embark on a beautiful and educational mission to Mars with The Best of Mars Picture CD 2nd Edition.
$22.95 $14.95 /each View details
Click here to view other physics & astronomy related products from our online store.
|
|
|