Keeping chaos at bay

The use of electronic circuits in studying chaotic dynamics and control are reviewed. Since all chaotic systems have several properties in common, simple circuits are analogous to much more complicated ones, such as lasers. Consequently, the methods developed to control chaos in electronic circuits are applicable to many diverse physical systems. The controlling device itself is a high-speed analog circuit. In applying perturbations, no calculations are made; instead, trial-and-error adjustments are used to locate the desired behavior. The initial observations of chaos in electronics, the development of the Ott-Grebogi-Yorke method for calculating the perturbations needed to stabilize a periodic orbit in a chaotic system and the occasional proportional feedback method, and their applications are discussed.<<ETX>>