A driven disk with chaotic motion
Editor's Note: The driven disk is a simple and familiar chaotic system. Wedged between two motorized rollers and confined to the vertical plane, the disk is driven upward. The result is a chaotic mix of spinning and pendulum motion that will surprise and delight experimenters. The new model presented here is accessible to undergraduate physics students in courses on classical mechanics and chaotic systems.
Authors
- Kirk T. McDonald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3502-7380)
Institutions
- Princeton University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- American Journal of Physics
- Published
- 2026-05-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0317722
- Primary Topic
- Quantum chaos and dynamical systems
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00