Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026

07:40
Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
Published on: October 29, 2016
Microextensive chaos of a spatially extended system
Shigeyuki Tajima1, Henry S Greenside
1Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708-0305, USA.
Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|September 21, 2002
Summary
Dynamical complexity in chaotic systems increases with system size. The Lyapunov fractal dimension grows linearly with system size L, even for small increments, suggesting complexity can be enhanced without large size increases.
Area of Science:
- Nonlinear dynamics
- Chaos theory
- Statistical physics
Background:
- The Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation models spatio-temporal chaos.
- Understanding how system size affects chaotic dynamics is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the scaling of Lyapunov fractal dimension (D) with system size (L) in the one-dimensional Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation.
- To determine if microextensivity of D holds for small system size increments.
Main Methods:
- Numerical analysis of chaotic states for the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation.
- System sizes L were analyzed in the range 79 ≤ L ≤ 93.
- Calculation of the Lyapunov fractal dimension D.
Main Results:
- The Lyapunov fractal dimension D was found to scale microextensively.
- D increased linearly with system size L.
- This linear increase was observed even for small increments ΔL compared to cell size and correlation lengths.
Conclusions:
- Spatially homogeneous chaotic systems can increase dynamical complexity by increasing system size, even by small amounts.
- Microextensivity of the Lyapunov fractal dimension is a significant finding for understanding chaotic system behavior.
- The results challenge traditional notions of characteristic size increases for enhanced complexity.
Related Concept Videos
Second Law of Thermodynamics
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that entropy, or the amount of disorder in a system, increases each time energy is transferred or transformed. Each energy transfer results in a certain amount of energy that is lost—usually in the form of heat—that increases the disorder of the surroundings. This can also be demonstrated in a classic food web. Herbivores harvest chemical energy from plants and release heat and carbon dioxide into the environment. Carnivores harvest the chemical energy...
Entropy
Salt particles that have dissolved in water never spontaneously come back together in solution to reform solid particles. Moreover, a gas that has expanded in a vacuum remains dispersed and never spontaneously reassembles. The unidirectional nature of these phenomena is the result of a thermodynamic state function called entropy (S). Entropy is the measure of the extent to which the energy is dispersed throughout a system, or in other words, it is proportional to the degree of disorder of a...
Second Law of Thermodynamics
In the quest to identify a property that may reliably predict the spontaneity of a process, a promising candidate has been identified: entropy. Processes that involve an increase in entropy of the system (ΔS > 0) are very often spontaneous; however, examples to the contrary are plentiful. By expanding consideration of entropy changes to include the surroundings, a significant conclusion regarding the relation between this property and spontaneity may be reached. In thermodynamic models, the...
Entropy
The first law of thermodynamics is quantitatively formulated via an equation relating the internal energy of a system, the heat exchanged by it, and the work done on it. A quantitative formulation of the second law of thermodynamics leads to defining a state function, the entropy.
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
Entropy Change in Reversible Processes
In the Carnot engine, which achieves the maximum efficiency between two reservoirs of fixed temperatures, the total change in entropy is zero. The observation can be generalized by considering any reversible cyclic process consisting of many Carnot cycles. Thus, it can be stated that the total entropy change of any ideal reversible cycle is zero.
The statement can be further generalized to prove that entropy is a state function. Take a cyclic process between any two points on a p-V diagram.
The statement can be further generalized to prove that entropy is a state function. Take a cyclic process between any two points on a p-V diagram.
Entropy Changes Accompanying Specific Processes
Entropy, a measure of disorder in a system, changes during phase transitions like freezing or boiling. At the transition temperature Ttrs, where two phases are in equilibrium, the phase transition is a reversible process. The entropy change can be calculated from a substance's enthalpy of transition using the equation ΔStrs = ΔtrsH /Ttrs.When a perfect gas expands isothermally from one volume to another, entropy increases logarithmically with volume. Conversely, isothermal compression results...

