Description: Since its inception, the science of chaos has caused excitement and activity in theoretical circles as far apart as physics and economics, and in disciplines ranging from mathematics to ecology. Its central revelation - that even a simple deterministic system can yield complex behavior such as chaos - suggests a glimmer of hope that the salient features of complex problems might be captured, even understood, in terms of simple models and the paradigm of chaos. Conventional analysis can explain numerous phenomena. Yet many dynamic systems remain mysteries to which chaos may hold a crucial key. To explore this possibility in the context of applications, the Electric Power Research Institute recently sponsored the International Workshop on Applications of Chaos. This fascinating book is the result. At EPRI's invitation, a group of physicists, chemists, mathematicians, engineers of every variety, as well as physiologists, computer scientists, and others came together from all over the globe to speak about and discuss the applications of chaos. The twenty papers presented included such topics as Global Integrity in Engineering Dynamics, Atmospheric Flight Dynamics and Chaos, New Applications of Chaos in Chemical Engineering, Controlling the Dynamics of Chaotic Convective Flows, Real-Time Identification of Flame Dynamics, and Applications of Chaos to Physiology and Medicine. The scope of their discussion illustrates both the interdisciplinary nature of chaotic dynamics and the wide variety of applications, from engineering to cardiology. It is also clear from the results that chaotic dynamics is pervasive and will be of increasing importance in many areas of applied science and technology.Applied Chaos represents the next generation of technology in its infancy, a hint of the enormous possibilities that might be found in the practical applications of this new science.

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