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Catastrophe Theory

Catastrophe theory, introduced by Thom in the 1960s, is a mathematical formalism for modeling nonlinear systems whose behavior is determined by the actions of a small number of driving parameters. In particular, it applies to systems that undergo either gradual or sudden changes in behavior due to gradually changing forces. It has been applied to many problems in mathematics, physics and the social sciences. Thom called the sudden changes that take place in a system "catastrophes" and developed a theory as a method of analyzing and classifying these changes. Thom's theorem asserts that the stationary state behavior of all systems that have up to four control parameters (or input variables) and two behavior (or output) variables, and which also have an associated potential function, can be described using one of seven elementary catastrophes.

Web Resources On Catastrophe Theory

http://www.cna.org/isaac/Glossb.htm

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