nonlinear dynamics

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

The mathematical study of systems governed by equations in which the output is not proportional to the input; small changes can have large effects (sensitive dependence) and behaviour can be unpredictable, oscillatory, or chaotic; the mathematical foundation of chaos theory

History and origin

From Greek dynamikos (powerful); nonlinear equations were studied by Henri Poincaré in the 1890s; the modern field exploded after the development of computers enabled numerical simulation

Examples

• The human heartbeat, weather systems, and predator-prey population cycles are all governed by nonlinear dynamics.
• In nonlinear dynamics, a small perturbation in initial conditions can lead to radically different outcomes — the butterfly effect.

Synonyms: chaos theory (informal overlap), dynamical systems theory