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II: Dynamical Systems and Chaos

  • Page ID
    93598
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    The second part of this course will include a discussion of dynamical systems theory and chaos. Our main vehicle for this discussion will be the motion of the one-dimensional driven, damped pendulum.

    • 10: The Simple Pendulum
      This page covers the dynamics of a simple pendulum, deriving the equations of motion from Newton's laws, and expressing forces in terms of arc length and angle, leading to a second-order differential equation. It simplifies to a harmonic oscillator model for small angles. The period of oscillation is analyzed, independent of amplitude, using trigonometric transformations and elliptic integrals.
    • 11: The Damped, Driven Pendulum
      This page explores the dynamics of a damped and driven pendulum, addressing friction, external forces, and the resulting motion governed by various damping scenarios. It examines resonance effects and oscillation behaviors, including amplitude and phase relationships influenced by damping and frequency. The introduction of chaos in the system highlights the connection between external forcing and phase shifts, enhanced by large oscillations.
    • 12: Concepts and Tools
      This page covers nonlinear dynamical systems, focusing on fixed points, stability analysis, and bifurcations. It explains fixed points, stability, and the Jacobian matrix's role. The page details bifurcation types (saddle-node, transcritical, pitchfork) and their dynamics related to parameter changes. It introduces phase-space concepts such as limit cycles and attractors, alongside Poincaré sections.
    • 13: Pendulum Dynamics
      This page explores the dynamics of undriven pendulums and logistic maps, emphasizing phase portraits, energy conservation, and bifurcation phenomena such as spontaneous symmetry breaking and period-doubling, leading to chaotic behavior. Key highlights include the construction of bifurcation diagrams, the calculation of the Feigenbaum constant, and methods for analyzing chaotic motion through Newton's method and least squares fitting, which reveal fractal structures in the system's dynamics.

    Thumbnail: A double rod pendulum animation showing chaotic behavior. Starting the pendulum from a slightly different initial condition would result in a completely different trajectory. The double rod pendulum is one of the simplest dynamical systems that has chaotic solutions. (Public Domain; Catslash).


    This page titled II: Dynamical Systems and Chaos is shared under a CC BY 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jeffrey R. Chasnov via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.