Any description of the workings of nature by means of measurements and ob­ servations is beset with the problem of how to cope with an immense amount of information. In physics, it is an established approach to derive basic equations which then serve as cornerstones of what is called a theory of the phenomena. This derivation is based on certain characteristics of the phenomena, the refine­ ment of which results from a reduction of the amount of empirical information, with the reduction leading to an enhancement of the very characteristics that are sought for in the otherwise seemingly amorphous wealth of data. If physics is mainly concerned with the derivation of equations, lately there has emerged a conceptually different approach, which in a way is equivalent to a reversal of the line of attack: here, the basic equations serve as the point of departure and the aim is to demonstrate that the equations are capable of de­ to represent the essence of the scribing certain characteristics which are thought phenomenon under investigation. By definition, this variant approach must tran­ scend the realm of pure physics and could possibly be termed "applied mathe­ matics" in a broader sense. The phenomena it strives to characterize arise from a range of influences such that a combination of theoretical concepts from physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, etc. , is called for.

Inhalt

I Fluid Flow: Turbulence, Modelling.- Turbulence and Navier-Stokes Equations.- An Arbitrary-Dimensional Cellular-Automaton Fluid Model with Simple Rules.- II Combustion Waves, Flames.- The Complex Dynamics of Wrinkled Flames.- Cascade Model for Turbulent Flame Propagation.- The Fractal Concept of Turbulent Flames.- Diffusion Flame Stabilization by a Recirculating Flow - Flame Spread Downstream of an Ignition Point.- The Spectrum of Cellular Inertia Waves Under Unstable Forced Combustion Conditions.- III Turbulent Combustion.- Detailed Combustion Chemistry and Its Coupling with Turbulent Flow.- Chemical Reaction Rate Effects in Turbulent Non-premixed Combustion.- IV Reaction-Diffusion Systems: Stability, Pattern Formation, Autowaves, Chaos.- Synergetics Applied to Pattern Formation in Large-Aspect-Ratio Systems.- Kinetic Description of Autowave Processes and Hydrodynamic Motion.- The Non-isothermal Autocatalator: Complex Oscillations and Chaos.- Deterministic Chaos in Chemical Reactions.- Isotropic Automata for Simulations of Excitable Media: Periodicity, Chaos and Reorganization.- Comparison Between Morphological and Rayleigh-Marangoni Instabilities.- Catastrophe Theory Concepts for Ignition/Extinction Phenomena.- Index of Contributors.