Fractals and Chaos in a Simple Forced Oscillator

When: Thursday, October 13, 4:30pm – 5:20pm
Where: Olin Hall 320
Presenter: Jim Walsh, Professor of Mathematics, Oberlin College

In this talk the dynamics of a simple model of three charged bodies interacting under an inverse square electrostatic force is presented.  Professor Walsh will illustrate the manner in which fractals and chaos arise in the absence of damping when the forcing is periodic. The model easily serves as an alternative to the pendulum, the standard  model of a periodically forced  nonlinear oscillator. No knowledge of differential equations will be assumed.

This presentation is part of the MCS Seminar series; please see the calendar of upcoming events. Also, please email suggestions for future seminars as well as any questions.


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