ERIC Number: EJ1056930
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Mar
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-9120
EISSN: N/A
The Butterfly Effect for Physics Laboratories
Claycomb, James R.; Valentine, John H.
Physics Education, v50 n2 p170-174 Mar 2015
A low-cost chaos dynamics lab is developed for quantitative demonstration of the butterfly effect using a magnetic pendulum. Chaotic motion is explored by recording magnetic time series. Students analyze the data in Excel® to investigate the butterfly effect as well as the reconstruction of the strange attractor using time delay plots. The lab exercise is suitable for junior-level modern physics laboratories, or as an extension to traditional first-year laboratories exploring pendulum motion.
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Physics, Science Laboratories, Scientific Principles, Magnets, Motion, Time, Educational Technology, Spreadsheets, College Science, Introductory Courses
Institute of Physics Publishing. The Public Ledger Building Suite 929, 150 South Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 215-627-0880; Fax: 215-627-0879; e-mail: info@ioppubusa.com; Web site: http://journals.iop.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A