Chaos Lab

Continuous flow · dim 3

Lorenz '63

Edward Lorenz's 1963 truncation of atmospheric convection. The first explicitly studied strange attractor: bounded, sensitive to initial conditions, with a fractal dimension ≈ 2.06. Origin of 'the butterfly effect'.

Lorenz '63 attractor at σ = 10, ρ = 28, β = 8/3.

Equations

dx/dt = σ(y − x)
dy/dt = x(ρ − z) − y
dz/dt = xy − β z

At a glance

Parametersσ = 10, ρ = 28, β = 8/3 (classical)
Chaotic forρ > 24.74 (Hopf bifurcation), classical at ρ = 28
Lyapunov exponentλ₁ ≈ 0.906 (classical)
HistoryLorenz, 'Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow', J. Atmos. Sci. (1963).

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