Abstract
The investigation of dynamical systems has revealed a deep-rooted difference between waves and objects regarding temporal reversibility and particlelike objects. In nondissipative chaos, the dynamic of waves always remains time reversible, unlike that of particles. Here, we explore the dynamics of a wave-particle entity. It consists in a drop bouncing on a vibrated liquid bath, self-propelled and piloted by the surface waves it generates. This walker, in which there is an information exchange between the particle and the wave, can be analyzed in terms of a Turing machine with waves as the information repository. The experiments reveal that in this system, the drop can read information backwards while erasing it. The drop can thus backtrack on its previous trajectory. A transient temporal reversibility, restricted to the drop motion, is obtained in spite of the system being both dissipative and chaotic.
- Received 17 January 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.094502
© 2016 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Focus
Surface Waves Store Bouncing Droplet’s History
Published 26 August 2016
A droplet bouncing and wandering across a liquid surface can produce waves that store the history of its chaotic motion.
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