Re: chaos demonstrations

["Paul Camp" <pjcamp@coastal.edu>]

Probably the simplest and most easily acquired example is those toys 
you get at gift shops in which a pair of space shuttles or some such 
thing oscillate back and forth inside a circle which also oscillates. 
I'm sure you've seen them. These are essentially coupled pendulums 
which exhibit chaotic behavior. Get two of them and try your best to 
start them swinging in exactly the same way. After a couple of 
swings, they will each be doing something entirely different. Perhaps 
you can build on this idea by first having two simple pendulums to 
see that a simple change in the device gives rise to a qualitatively 
different behavior.


> I have been contacted by a local science museum that wants to set up a
> display showing "chaos," ideally with interactive components for children.
> Any ideas?
>
> Bob hunt


Paul J. Camp                   "The Beauty of the Universe
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