PHY 241 - Nonlinear Dynamics

Semester Hours: 4

In most physics classes, the meat of the course is in developing general laws (e.g. Newton’s laws) and then applying them to a physical process (e.g. a block sliding down an inclined plane) to create a mathematical model of that process. With these models, a bit of mathematical machinery, and a set of initial conditions, one can set out to predict the future. This is a different kind of class. The situations a student will analyze in this course are often not predictable even in principle. Here the student will frequently take the mathematical model as a given. The task is to develop tools to understand the kinds of behavior that are possible in that model, the kinds of behavior that are typical of that model, and how these various kinds of behavior relate to each other. This shift in approach is a necessary one when moving from linear to nonlinear systems.

Prerequisite: PHY 152.
When Offered: Offered on a rotating basis.