Lorent'z Attractor

The Lorenz attractor

        A phenomenon seen in dynamical systems, in which the system's future behavior is highly sensitive to the initial conditions of the system. The Lorenz system is a system of ordinary differential equations first studied by Edward Lorenz. It is notable for having chaotic solutions for certain parameter values and initial conditions. In particular, the Lorenz attractor is a set of chaotic solutions of the Lorenz system which, when plotted, resemble a butterfly or figure eight. It heps researchers predict what will happen in a chaotic system. The "butterfly effect" is a common way to describe the sensitivity to initial conditions in a chaotic system. It is a reference to the frequently used metaphor of a butterfly flapping its wings somewhere in the world and then much later a typhoon developing at another location as a distant, but direct, result of this. In