butterfly effect

butterfly effect

noun

A phenomenon in which a small perturbation in the initial condition of a system results in large changes in later conditions. Such phenomena are common in complex dynamical systems and are studied in chaos theory.

Origin of butterfly effect

From the idea that the tiny atmospheric changes caused by the flap of a butterfly's wings can ultimately have major effects on the course of the weather

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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"butterfly effect." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/butterfly-effect>.

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butterfly effect. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/butterfly-effect

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MLA Style

"butterfly effect." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/butterfly-effect>.

APA Style

butterfly effect. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/butterfly-effect

Noun

(plural butterfly effects)

The technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"butterfly effect." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/butterfly-effect>.

APA Style

butterfly effect. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/butterfly-effect

butterfly effect

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butterfly effect

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