Synergetics : An Introduction Nonequilibrium Phase Transitions and Self-Organization in Physics, Chemistry and Biology

Order and Disorder: Some Typical Phenomena 1.3 How We Shall Proceed 12. Chaos seem to have been published. In view of the widespread phenomena of chaos, which becomes more and more evident, one may ask why biological systems are apparently capable of avoiding chaos which, in this author's opinion, is a still unsolved problem. The publication of this second edition was motivated by several facts. First of all, the first edition had been sold out in less than one year. It had found excellent critics and enthusiastic responses from professors and students welcoming this new interdisciplinary approach. This appreciation is reflected by the fact that the book is presently translated into Russian and Japanese also. I have used this opportunity to include some of the most interesting recent developments. Therefore I have added a whole new chapter on the fascinating and rapidly growing field of chaos dealing with irregular motion caused by deterministic forces. This kind of phenomenon is presently found in quite diverse fields ranging from physics to biology. Furthermore I have included a section on the analytical treatment of a morphogenetic model using the order parameter concept developed in this book. Among the further additions, there is now a complete description of the onset of ultrashort laser pulses. It goes without· saying that the few minor mis­ prints or errors of the first edition have been corrected. I wish to thank all who have helped me to incorporate these additions. Front Matter....Pages I-XII Goal....Pages 1-16 Probability....Pages 17-40 Information....Pages 41-67 Chance....Pages 69-103 Necessity....Pages 105-145 Chance and Necessity....Pages 147-189 Self-Organization....Pages 191-223 Physical Systems....Pages 225-262 Chemical and Biochemical Systems....Pages 263-291 Applications to Biology....Pages 293-314 Sociology: A Stochastic Model for the Formation of Public Opinion....Pages 315-317 Chaos....Pages 319-332 Some Historical Remarks and Outlook....Pages 333-335 Back Matter....Pages 337-358