Transition to chemical turbulence

Author :Q. Ouyang and H. L. Swinney
Publication :CHAOS Journal
Volume :1
Pages :411-420
Year :1991

Experiments have been conducted on Turing-type chemical spatial patterns and their variants
in a quasi-two-dimensional open spatial reactor with a chlorite-iodide-malonic acid
reaction. A variety of stationary spatial structures-hexagons, stripes, and mixed states-were
observed, and transitions to these states were studied. For conditions beyond those
corresponding to the emergence of patterns, a transition was observed from stationary spatial
patterns to chemical turbulence, which is marked by a continuous motion of the pattern
within a domain and of the grain boundaries between domains. The transition to chemical
turbulence was analyzed by measuring the correlation length, the average pattern speed,
and the total length of the domain boundaries. The emergence of chemical turbulence is
accompanied by a large increase in the defects in the pattern, which suggests that this
is an example of defect-mediated turbulence.