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Nature 436, 905-907 (18 August 2005) | doi:10.1038/436905a; Published online 17 August 2005

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Complex systems:  Order out of chaos

John Whitfield1

  1. John Whitfield is a science writer in London.

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Can the behaviour of complex systems from cells to planetary climates be explained by the idea that they're driven to produce the maximum amount of disorder? John Whitfield investigates.

In the mid-1970s, the love affair between climatologists and computer models was beginning to blossom. By breaking down the atmosphere and ocean into ever-smaller interacting chunks in simulations, researchers found that they could mimic the behaviour of the global climate with reasonable success.

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