This text on the interdisciplinary field of synergetics will be of
interest to students and scientists in physics, chemistry, mathematics,
biology, electrical, civil and mechanical engineering, and other fields.
It continues the outline of basic con- cepts and methods presented in my
book Synergetics. An Introduction, which has by now appeared in English,
Russian, J apanese, Chinese, and German. I have written the present book
in such a way that most of it can be read in- dependently of my previous
book, though occasionally some knowledge of that book might be useful.
But why do these books address such a wide audience? Why are
instabilities such a common feature, and what do devices and
self-organizing systems have in common? Self-organizing systems acquire
their structures or functions without specific interference from
outside. The differentiation of cells in biology, and the process of
evolution are both examples of self-organization. Devices such as the
electronic oscillators used in radio transmitters, on the other hand,
are man- made. But we often forget that in many cases devices function
by means of pro- cesses which are also based on self-organization. In an
electronic oscillator the motion of electrons becomes coherent without
any coherent driving force from the outside; the device is constructed
in such a way as to permit specific collective motions of the electrons.
Quite evidently the dividing line between self-organiz- ing systems and
man-made devices is not at all rigid.