Perspectives of Nonlinear Dynamics. Vol. 2 : Cambridge University Press : 9780521426336 : 0521426332 : 02 Jun 1992 : The dynamics of physical, chemical, biological or fluid systems generally must be described by nonlinear models, whose detailed mathematical solutions are not obtainable. To understand some aspects of such dynamics, various complementary methods and viewpoints are of crucial importance. In this book and its companion volume, Perspectives of nonlinear dynamics, volume 1, the perspectives generated by analytical, topological and computational methods, and interplays between them, are developed in a variety of contexts. The presentation and style is intended to stimulate the reader's imagination to apply these methods to a host of problems and situations. The text is complemented by copious references, extensive historical and bibliographical notes, exercises and examples, and appendices giving more details of some mathematical ideas. Each chapter includes an extensive sect