Course Detail
Units:
3.0
Course Components:
Lecture
Enrollment Information
Enrollment Requirement:
Prerequisites: Honors Student in Physics.
Co-requisites: MATH 1010 OR Equivalent.
Requirement Designation:
Course Attribute:
Honors Course
Description
This course introduces the understanding of complex dynamical systems. This relatively new field crosses a number of disciplines including computer science and engineering mathematics, physics, biology, ecology, urban geography, business and finance. The essential feature of a complex system is that it is composed of many independent, but strongly interacting components. In such a system, often the interactions result in behavior of the system as a whole that is difficult, if not impossible to predict from the properties and characteristics of the individual components. When effects of this type occur, such as in the case of spontaneous order (e.g. formation of crystals, the basic workings of an economy), they are known as 'emergent behaviors.'