First integrated treatment of main ideas behind René Thom's theory of catastrophes stresses detailed applications in the physical sciences. Mathematics of theory explained with a minimum of technicalities. Over 200 illustrations clarify text designed for researchers and postgraduate students in engineering, mathematics, physics and biology. 1978 edition. Bibliography.

This book aims to provide a straightforward introduction to chemical applications of the catastrophe theory. It is primarily intended for chemists interested in placing chemical reactions in the broader context of non-linear science, but it has a practical relevance for scientists in general. Catastrophe theory deals with those non-linear phenomena in which a continuous change in the control parameters results in a discontinuous alteration of a characteristic quantity of the system. The author discusses the origins of catastrophe theory, giving examples of occurrences in the areas of physics, chemistry and biology. Elementary theory and non-chemical applications are also described. The chemical kinetics and methods of analysis of chemical kinetic equations arising from elementary and generalized catastrophe theories are reviewed. Finally, the theory is applied to analyse and classify phenomena associated with the stability loss that may occur in chemical reactions. The book contains over 100 figures and an extensive subject index.

This advanced-level treatment describes the mathematics of catastrophe theory and its applications to problems in mathematics, physics, chemistry and engineering. 28 tables. 397 black-and-white illustrations. 1981 edition.

Mathematical models have long been used by geographers and regional scientists to explore the working of urban and regional systems, via a system where the equilibrium point changes slowly and smoothly as the parameters change slowly and smoothly. However, this all changed with the advent of catastrophe theory and bifurcation, which enabled the development of models where a quite sudden change in the position of the equilibrium point results from a slow, small, smooth change in one or more parameters. First published in 1981, this reissue of Professor Wilson’s classic study outlines the implications of these mathematical models for geography and regional science, by way of a survey of contemporary applications.

Die beiden ursprünglich 1992 veröffentlichten Bände liegen nun in zusammengefaßter Paperback-Form vor. Reality Rules beleuchten die Syntax und die Semantik der Sprache, in der mathematische Modellierungsregeln niedergelegt werden. Eine Vielzahl von Beispielen zeigt praktische Anwendungen auf; auch ein Lösungsband zur Unterstützung des Selbststudiums ist erhältlich.

Perturbations: Theory and Methods gives a thorough introduction to both regular and singular perturbation methods for algebraic and differential equations. Unlike most introductory books on the subject, this one distinguishes between formal and rigorous asymptotic validity, which are commonly confused in books that treat perturbation theory as a bag of heuristic tricks with no foundation. The meaning of "uniformity" is carefully explained in a variety of contexts. All standard methods, such as rescaling, multiple scales, averaging, matching, and the WKB method are covered, and the asymptotic validity (in the rigorous sense) of each method is carefully proved. First published in 1991, this book is still useful today because it is an introduction. It combines perturbation results with those known through other methods. Sometimes a geometrical result (such as the existence of a periodic solution) is rigorously deduced from a perturbation result, and at other times a knowledge of the geometry of the solutions is used to aid in the selection of an effective perturbation method. Dr. Murdock's approach differs from other introductory texts because he attempts to present perturbation theory as a natural part of a larger whole, the mathematical theory of differential equations. He explores the meaning of the results and their connections to other ways of studying the same problems.