Poincare and the Discovery of Chaos

Entering a competition, Henri Poincare set out to solve one of mathematics' most celebrated and difficult problems. He ended up discovering instead, years ahead of his time, the mathematical theory of chaos.

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How the quest to solve one of the most famous problems of mathematics led to the accidental discovery of chaos theory. In 1885, to celebrate his forthcoming birthday, King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway announced a mathematics contest. Henri Poincare, one of the most original mathematical thinkers of his generation, was eager to enter the ideal opportunity to develop his ideas on the problem of the stability of the solar system. So difficult was this, that it was cast in an idealised form: the three-body problem, one of the most celebrated and difficult in mathematics. Poincare and the Discover of Chaos tells the story of how Poincare set out to solve the three-body problem but ended up discovering, years ahead of his time, the mathematical theory of chaos instead.