The Butterfly Effect: Can a Butterfly in Brazil Really Cause a Tornado in Texas?
L'effet papillon : Un papillon au Brésil peut-il vraiment provoquer une tornade au Texas ?
Pielke Sr., R.A. ; Shen, Bo-Wen ; Zeng, Xubin
Almost everyone has heard the claim that a butterfly can flap its wings in one part of the world and cause a chain reaction of events that ultimately results in a major event on the other side of the world. For example, a butterfly wing flap in Brazil could cause a tornado in Texas. Indeed, this concept has permeated popular society. In the classic movie Jurassic Park, the mathematician in the movie, played by Ian Malcolm, predicted that Jurassic Park would devolve into chaos, adding, 'A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking and in Central Park you get rain instead of sunshine.' But is it really possible for an event as small as a butterfly's wing flap to lead to a major weather event thousands of miles away? Scientists have been interested in this question for years.</p>
Accès à la notice sur le site du portail documentaire de Météo-France