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Concept

Strange attractor

A complex, abstract geometric pattern with overlapping circles and intricate lines forms a strange attractor, showcasing a dynamic and non-repeating pattern typical of such mathematical structures.

A geometric object in the state space of a dynamical system onto which trajectories settle but never repeat. Strange attractors have fractal dimension, sitting between an integer and the next, and are the signature of deterministic chaos. The Lorenz attractor, first plotted by hand from punched output in 1963, is the canonical example. Others have since been found in chemistry, cardiology, ecology, and fluid dynamics.

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