Title: Nonlinear dynamics and disordered materials, or, Thermal Equilibrium vs. The Real World 

Abstract:

Most of our understanding of the properties of materials comes from the study of thermal equilibrium, which is the state reached if one leaves a system undisturbed for long enough. But for many disordered materials, “long enough” is often years or even centuries. This talk will discuss how insights from the study of nonlinear dynamics, the field to which John David Crawford made many important contributions, have enabled us to understand some striking phenomena that do not occur in thermal equilibrium and are seen in experiments.