Classical Chaos: Double Pendulum

The double pendulum is the simplest deterministic system exhibiting classical chaos. Nearby initial conditions diverge exponentially — the Lyapunov exponent quantifies this sensitivity.

Energy:
Time: 0.0s
Log divergence:
θ₁ (degrees) 120°
θ₂ (degrees) 30°
Trail length 300

Equations of motion from Lagrangian mechanics. Integrated via RK4. The "shadow" pendulum starts with θ₁ offset by 0.001°, demonstrating exponential divergence — the hallmark of deterministic chaos.