Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2007

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Chemistry

Committee Chair

Kenneth Showalter.

Abstract

Experiments and simulations of the photosensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction are used to study collective behavior of simple interacting elements. Two different types of interacting elements are examined. In a network of excitable elements, interactions change the timing of activity of the individual elements. Interacting chemical wave segments form rotational modes or dynamically align due to their mutual interaction. In both cases, interactions result in emergent group behavior.

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