====================================================================== = Chua's circuit = ====================================================================== Introduction ====================================================================== Chua's circuit (also known as a Chua circuit) is a simple electronic circuit that exhibits classic chaotic behavior. This means roughly that it is a "nonperiodic oscillator"; it produces an oscillating waveform that, unlike an ordinary electronic oscillator, never "repeats". It was invented in 1983 by Leon O. Chua, who was a visitor at Waseda University in Japan at that time. The ease of construction of the circuit has made it a ubiquitous real-world example of a chaotic system, leading some to declare it "a paradigm for chaos". Chaotic criteria ====================================================================== An autonomous circuit made from standard components (resistors, capacitors, inductors) must satisfy three criteria before it can display chaotic behaviour. It must contain: # one or more nonlinear elements, # one or more locally active resistors, # three or more energy-storage elements. Chua's circuit is the simplest electronic circuit meeting these criteria. As shown in the top figure, the energy storage elements are two capacitors (labeled C1 and C2) and an inductor (labeled L; L1 in lower figure). A "locally active resistor" is a device that has negative resistance and is active (it can amplify), providing the power to generate the oscillating current. The locally active resistor and nonlinearity are combined in the device 'N'R, which is called "Chua's diode". This device is not sold commercially but is implemented in various ways by active circuits. The circuit diagram shows one common implementation. The nonlinear resistor is implemented by two linear resistors and two diodes. At the far right is a negative impedance converter made from three linear resistors and an operational amplifier, which implements the locally active resistance (negative resistance). Models ====================================================================== Analyzing the circuit using Kirchhoff's circuit laws, the dynamics of Chua's circuit can be accurately modeled by means of a system of three nonlinear ordinary differential equations in the variables 'x'('t'), 'y'('t'), and 'z'('t'), which represent the voltages across the capacitors C1 and C2 and the electric current in the inductor L1 respectively. These equations are: :\frac{dx}{dt} = \alpha [y - x - f(x)], :RC_2 \frac{dy}{dt} = x - y + Rz, :\frac{dz}{dt} = -\beta y. The function 'f'('x') describes the electrical response of the nonlinear resistor, and its shape depends on the particular configuration of its components. The parameters α and β are determined by the particular values of the circuit components. A computer-assisted proof of chaotic behavior (more precisely, of positive topological entropy) in Chua's circuit was published in 1997. A chaotic attractor, known as "the double scroll" because of its shape