What Are the Discontinuous Processes Found in Nature?

[acherentia]

I am wondering if there are any discontinuous processes in nature and which are they, if any. thank you.

 

[mathman]

Acceleration is often discontinuous. For example starting a car - stepping on the gas changes the acceleration from 0 to something definitely positive.

 

[acherentia]

Well if you look at the graphs that's not exactly what seems to happen. You might need to zoom in on time to understand that it's continuous. I don't think acceleration can be considered a discontinuous process.

Acceleration is often discontinuous. For example starting a car - stepping on the gas changes the acceleration from 0 to something definitely positive.

 

[Curl]

Pretty much everything is discontinuous and quantized.

Light, momentum, distance, time, etc... are all quantized so its not continuous.

 

[AJ Bentley]

My understanding of discontinuous functions would be something like tan theta where it zooms off to infinity as you approach 90 degrees, then returns from the opposite direction.

I can't think of anything in nature that behaves like that. Even if you found something that appeared to do so, I think that adding another dimension would probably resolve the problem, as it does for tan theta (draw it on a cylinder).

 

[Andy Resnick]

I am wondering if there are any discontinuous processes in nature and which are they, if any. thank you.

I don't know about a *process*, but an oil-water interface is about as discontinuous a phenomenon out there.

In general, the more fine-grained you model a phenomenon, the smoother things appear. Phase transitions can remain discontinuous, so can a few other effects (caustics, for example).

 

[acherentia]

that's really more towards my chemical plate, i never thought of phase trasitions. i am not sure what you mean by caustics but i will look it up.

 

[acherentia]

Pretty much everything is discontinuous and quantized.

Light, momentum, distance, time, etc... are all quantized so its not continuous.

everything you mention does not fit my definition of a process.

 

[HallsofIvy]

Pretty much everything is discontinuous and quantized.

Light, momentum, distance, time, etc... are all quantized so its not continuous.

everything you mention does not fit my definition of a process.

His point is that any process involving them (at the quantum level) would be discontinuous.

 

[acherentia]

Aha...well I never dragged it one step further. I hope you're right because I will take what you say for granted for now.