Back نظام لورينتز Arabic Атрактар Лорэнца BE-X-OLD Atractor de Lorenz Catalan Lorenzův atraktor Czech Lorenz-Attraktor German Σύστημα Λόρεντζ Greek Atractor de Lorenz Spanish سامانه لورنتس Persian Lorenzin yhtälöt Finnish Attracteur de Lorenz French
 | This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (December 2023) |
The Lorenz system is a system of ordinary differential equations first studied by mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz. It is notable for having chaotic solutions for certain parameter values and initial conditions. In particular, the Lorenz attractor is a set of chaotic solutions of the Lorenz system. The term "butterfly effect" in popular media may stem from the real-world implications of the Lorenz attractor, namely that tiny changes in initial conditions evolve to completely different trajectories. This underscores that chaotic systems can be completely deterministic and yet still be inherently impractical or even impossible to predict over longer periods of time. For example, even the small flap of a butterfly's wings could set the earth's athmosphere on a vastly different trajectory, in which for example a hurricane occurs where it otherwise would have not (see Saddle points). The shape of the Lorenz attractor itself, when plotted in phase space, may also be seen to resemble a butterfly.