Saturday, September 16, 2017

But Can We Set the Lyapunov Exponent?

Apparently, there is a microwave with a 'CHAOS' mode (in all caps).

I have only one question: Are we allowed to set the Lyapunov exponent? (Technically, I am thinking of the maximum one.)


(Tip of the cap to George Takei.)

Update: It looks like chaotic dynamics actually are explicitly involved. (Tip of the cap to Melvin Leok for the link.)

Update 2: Following up on Melvin's comment, I did some googling and found this article. I still haven't figured out which system they used. I suppose I should treat this like the chaotic water wheels. The people who designed this option could have chosen any one of the standard models.

Update 3: Bah. The relevant reference is in a conference proceeding whose parent domain is dead (probably long dead). I might actually have to use a physical library to determine decisively which system was used. (Jaroslav Stark, one of the authors of the above perspective piece, died several years ago. I could potentially see if his coauthor, who I have never heard of, is reachable. The names of the authors of that conference proceeding are going to defy Google.)

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