March 8, 2018
Catastrophe Theory and the Jam Jar explosion!
Have you ever noticed the interesting spike graph on the top of your cup of tea? This is the graph for Catastrophe Theory – a mathematical theory that explains why suddenly things are stable and then become unstable. This phenomenon occurs everywhere in the natural world – a good example might be when a dog forces a rat into a corner, and is then attacked by the rat and bitten. Fight or flight – the rat is scared and tries to run away, and then at a certain point flight turns to fight when fear turns to rage. I placed a pot of Apricot jam too near the end of the table this morning – it gradually toppled over, hit the floor and exploded leaving bits of glass and jam all over the floor! One moment all was stable, then a second later all was chaotic. Penny cleared it up very patiently and without accusation…she knows I can be a bit doddery at times and I appreciate her kindness. It can all be explained on the top of that cup of tea or coffee if you look carefully when there is a strong light source like the Sun or a Light – try it.
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