An Introduction to Catastrophe Theory Saunders Hardback 9780521230421

An Introduction to Catastrophe TheoryAuthor(s): Peter Timothy Saunders\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521230421, 978-0521230421\nSynopsis\nAlmost every scientist has heard of catastrophe theory and knows that there has been a considerable amount of controversy surrounding it. Yet comparatively few know anything more about it than they may have read in an article written for the general public. The aim of this book is to make it possible for anyone with a comparatively modest background in mathematics - no more than is usually included in a first year university course for students not specialising in the subject - to understand the theory well enough to follow the arguments in papers in which it is used and, if the occasion arises, to use it. Over half the book is devoted to applications, partly because it is not possible yet for the mathematician applying catastrophe theory to separate the a.