Due to nonlinearities in weather processes, a butterfly flapping its wings in Tahiti can, in theory, produce a tornado in Kansas. This strong dependence of outcomes on very slightly differing initial conditions is a hallmark of the mathematical behavior known as chaos.
Butterfly Effect
See also
Butterfly Catastrophe, Butterfly Curve, Butterfly Function, Butterfly Graph, Butterfly Lemma, Butterfly Polyiamond, Butterfly Theorem, Chaos, Lorenz AttractorExplore with Wolfram|Alpha
References
Gleick, J. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin Books, 1988.Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha
Butterfly EffectCite this as:
Weisstein, Eric W. "Butterfly Effect." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ButterflyEffect.html