LINEARIZATION
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1923 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
The approximate description of a nonlinear process or system through a linear model.
Such a reduction is possible and useful only when the behavior of the modelized system is, for a time, only very slightly affected by nonlinear effects and when there are good reasons to believe that this situation could not be suddenly reversed by a change in the basic conditions of existence of the system. Any appearing factor of acceleration or slowdown, possible discontinuity, or incipient chaotic behavior should be closely watched.
In particular, as expressed by R. MAY: “The elegant body of mathematical theory corresponding to linear systems (FOURIER analysis, orthogonal functions, etc.) and its successful application to numerous fundamental problems in physical sciences, tend still to dominate more or less advanced universities cursus in mathematics and physics. Mathematical intuition thus developed ill prepares the student to confront the strange behavior showed by the simplest nonlinear discrete systems, while however these nonlinear systems are surely the rule and not the exception outside the physical sciences” (1976).