February 1, 1996 Contact: Erik Stokstad or Robert Irion (408/459-2495)

UC SANTA CRUZ PHYSICIST TO DISCUSS CHAOS THEORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--From earthquakes to roiling thunderstorms, the patterns of nature often seem random. However, these events follow the same simple physical laws that govern the gentle arc of a pendulum's swing or the sweeping orbits of planets. Michael Nauenberg, professor emeritus of physics at UC Santa Cruz, will discuss the reasons behind this orderly disorder in a free public lecture titled "Chaos and the Arrow of Time," on Tuesday, February 27. Aimed at a general audience, his talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Classroom Unit 2 on the UCSC campus.

Chaos theorists study the unpredictable. Unlike the cycle of tides or the ricochet of billiard balls, chaotic phenomena cannot be predicted far into the future. Weather forecasters and economists have a good idea of what might happen in the short run, but long- term guesses are notoriously unreliable. That's because chaotic systems are hypersensitive to initial conditions. Tiny fluctuations, such as a mild breeze or the actions of a lone stockbroker, can quickly spin out of control.

Nauenberg will use the fitful kicks and twists of a double- jointed pendulum to demonstrate chaotic behavior. He will also discuss how the steady drips of a leaky faucet become chaotic, a phenomenon first investigated in the 1970s at UCSC.

Nauenberg is spending a year in the Netherlands, pursing research on chaotic physics and the history of seventeenth-century physics and mathematics. He holds the visiting van der Waals chair in theoretical physics at the University of Amsterdam and is also a visiting professor at the University of Leiden.

The Division of Natural Sciences at UCSC is sponsoring Nauenberg's lecture. For more information, call the UCSC Public Information Office at (408) 459-2495.

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