Le Catastrophe by Any Other Name.

Abstract

The application of the techniques of mathematical physics to the analysis of discontinuities is well known, but it rests on a detailed understanding of the continuous behavior of other parts of the process or system. In many cases, the 'soft' sciences especially, such detailed knowledge is unlikely. As a part of mathematics, Catastrophe Theory (a subset of singularity and bifurcation theories) deals with the properties of discontinuities without reference to any specific underlying mechanism. It is thus most appropriate for the study of systems whose inner workings are not known, and for situations in which the only reliable observations are of the discontinuities (or sudden changes in the state of the system).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA102697

Entities

People

  • Ralph V. Buck

Organizations

  • Center for Naval Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Behavioral Sciences
  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemical Kinetics
  • Differential Equations
  • Diffusion Theory
  • Discontinuities
  • Equations
  • Geometry
  • Information Science
  • Integrals
  • Kinetic Theory
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Political Science
  • Search Theory
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design