Researched
Chaos Theory
Lorenz discovers by computer in 1963 that tiny differences in starting values change a system completely, which limits weather forecasts.
Open in the interactive tree →Poincaré had already noticed around 1890 that three-body orbits can become unpredictable. Edward Lorenz found the same effect in a weather model in 1963, the 'butterfly effect'. Strict laws do not guarantee predictable behavior; chaos explains weather, heart rhythms and population swings.
Prerequisites
- Calculus (Analysis)1684
- Newtonian Mechanics1687
- Programmable Computer1941
- Numerical weather prediction1950Lorenz found chaos in a simplified weather model run on a computer