chaos theory en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (General-American) audio
- /ˌkeɪˌɑs ˈθiəɹi/ (General-American)
- /ˌkeɪɒs ˈθɪəɹi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /-ˈθɪɹi/ (General-American)
Etymology
From chaos + theory.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) The study of chaos or disorder in systems, specifically iterative non-linear systems in which arbitrarily small variations in initial conditions become magnified over time, and where within apparent randomness there are underlying patterns; (countable) one of such theories.
[David] Warsh gives three diverse examples spread throughout our century and indicating the broad nature of this punctuational challenge to gradualism (he might have supplied many more, including catastrophe and chaos theories in mathematics, and [Michel] Foucault's notions of social and intellectual change): […]
1992 October, Stephen Jay Gould, “Life in a Punctuation: A Visitor to Russia Reflects on Change in Nature and the Nature of Change”, in Alan P. Ternes, editor, Natural History, volume 101, number 10, New York, N.Y.: American Museum of Natural History, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 12, column 3:He [Robert May, Baron May of Oxford] took us on [an] interesting exploration of some of the important concepts of mathematics, from Euclidean geometry via the concept of imaginary numbers to the mathematics of fractals and chaos theory and the extraordinary power of mathematics to describe observed real-world phenomena.
2011, “The Dirac Lecture: Friday, 29 April 2011: Beauty and Truth: Their Intersection in Mathematics and Science: Robert Lord May of Oxford ac frsn”, in Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, volume 145, part 1, numbers 443–444, Darlington, Sydney, N.S.W.: Royal Society of New South Wales, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 64, column 2:Chaos theory, sometimes called the science of complexity, is a new mathematical understanding of physical phenomena represented by systems of nonlinear equations. […] The meteorologist Edward N[orton] Lorenz (1917–2008) introduced the term "butterfly effect" to describe his own insight that a small change in initial conditions can have a dramatic effect on later events, […] Lorenz used computer modeling to illustrate his ideas and developed a set of well-known equations used in chaos theory.
2011, Eric G[ottfrid] Swedin, “Science and Technology [Chaos Theory]”, in Alfred J[ohn] Andrea, editor, World History Encyclopedia, volume 19 (Era 9: Promises and Paradoxes, 1945–Present), Santa Barbara, Calif.; Denver, Colo.: ABC-Clio, →ISBN, page 696:Theoretical and numerical modelling research promises to bring us tantalizingly close to deterministic climate prediction in the near future, while proponents of "chaos" theories hint that prediction may be an illusive dream.
1985 March, S. Unninayar, “Climate System Fluctuations, Monitoring”, in Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Climate Diagnostics Workshop: Held at the Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, October 22–26, 1984, [Washington, D.C.]: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, →OCLC, session IX (Data Sets), page 384:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| chaos theories | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
chaotician · butterfly effect · chaos · chaotic · fractal
Translations (74)
de Chaostheorie (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · pt teoria do caos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · vi lý thuyết hỗn loạn (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · bn বিশৃঙ্খলা তত্ত্ব (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · cv хаос теорийӗ (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · mn хаосын онол (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · nn kaosteori (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ast teoría del caos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · sv kaosteori (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · it teoria del caos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · pnb نظریۂ شواش (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ar نظريَة الشواش (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · sh tèōrija haosa (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · id teori chaos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · uz xaos nazariyasi (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · el θεωρία του χάους (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · tr kaos teorisi (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · is óreiðukenning (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · sq teoria e kaosit (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ckb تیۆریی شێواوی (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · fr théorie du chaos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · pa ਘੜਮੱਸ ਸਿਧਾਂਤ (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ba хаос теорияһы (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ko 카오스 이론 (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ms teori kekacauan (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · tl huna ng dimayaw (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · mr कोलाहल (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · scn tiurìa dû caos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · nl chaostheorie (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · uz xaologiya (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · uk теорія хаосу (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · fa نظریه آشوب (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · cy damcaniaeth anhrefn (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · es teoría del caos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · pl teoria chaosu (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · vi thuyết hỗn loạn (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · da kaosteori (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · kk хаос теориясы (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · gl teoría do caos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ml കയോസ് സിദ്ധാന്തം (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ta ஒழுங்கின்மை கோட்பாடு (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ko 혼돈 이론 (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · th ทฤษฎีความอลวน (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · az xaos nəzəriyyəsi (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · jam kyeas tiori (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · sk teória chaosu (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ur نظریۂ شواش (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · no kaosteori (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · scn tiurìa dû càusu (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ia theoria del chaos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · pam teoriang chaos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ja カオス理論 (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · fi kaaosteoria (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · eo ĥaosoteorio (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · de Chaosforschung (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ru тео́рия ха́оса (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · hu káoszelmélet (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · sl teorȋja kaosa (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · be хаос теорияһы (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ary نضرية الروينة (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · af chaosteorie (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ro teoria haosului (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · vi thuyết hỗn mang (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · he תורת הכאוס (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · et kaoseteooria (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · ca teoria del caos (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · sh tèōrija kaosa (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · bg теория на хаоса (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · eu kaosaren teoria (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · cs teorie chaosu (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · cmn 混沌理論 /混沌理论 (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · hi कोलाहल (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · lv haosa teorija (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories) · lt chaoso teorija (study of chaos or disorder in systems; one of such theories)