ICTP COLLOQUIUM TODAY

[Info Point]

*ICTP COLLOQUIUM*

*16:30, Thursday, 14 July 2011*

*Main Lecture Hall, Leonardo Building, ICTP*

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*Professor Harry L. Swinney*

*University of Texas at Austin*

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* Emergence of order in physical, chemical, and biological systems*

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*Abstract:
The emergence of patterns is one of the world's most durable mysteries. 
Some patterns (clouds, zebra stripes) form in space, while others (the 
ebb and flow of tides, cardiac rhythms) form in time. Although there is 
no general theory of pattern formation in systems far from thermodynamic 
equilibrium, new analysis techniques enable quantitative comparisons of 
patterns such as the spirals in a frog egg, a fibrillating heart, and an 
ocean eddy. Insight into pattern formation in diverse systems of 
different sizes and different underlying mechanisms can be gained from a 
common approach, as will be illustrated with examples from chemistry, 
physics, and biology.***

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