A10 Lab Report

Nicholas Ng Zhi Cheng

32420277
nzcn1n20@soton.ac.uk
Dr. Syahrin
Background/Theory
The chaotic oscillator is a circuit where oscillation is produced and chaotic
signal being generated. The chaotic behaviour of the oscillator occurs where the
amplitude of the input signal at which period doubling happens. Period doubling
is a condition that happens when two period of the same trajectory merging and
produces double the period of the original orbit. To find the period where the
output waveform doubles, we need to obtain input voltages where the output
signal bifurcates. Bifurcation is a process when a point at something breaks into
two parts. The diagram will show a waveform of period doubling where
bifurcation is produced as the amplitude increases. The input voltages
corresponding to the period doubling where wave bifurcates can be found by
first choosing a frequency corresponding to the maximum output voltage
through the resonant circuit. As amplitude increases, it is observed that period
doubling is happening.
The resonance in terms of chaotic oscillator is an event that occurs in which it
responds to a weak signal during the chaotic activities. In general, fractal shows
that a geometric object possesses a similar shape to itself on all scales. As it is
zoom in or out of the geometrical shape, a pattern where all the shapes look
exactly like its actual self can be noticed and this is known as ‘self-similarity’.
As we investigate the chaotic oscillator, we can relate fractal as both possesses a
complex and similar properties from the waveform.
The Feigenbaum number is a constant value that has two mathematical
constants in order to express ratios in bifurcation diagram. It is given by the
formula:
A 2− A 1
δ=
A 3− A 2

where A represents the amplitude at which period doubles. This Feigenbaum

number also has an experimental value of 4.669. The Feigenbaum number is
estimated as we identify the amplitude where period doubles such that from 1 to
2, 2 to 4 and 4 to 8.
Experimental method
The experiment is designed as to construct the chaotic oscillator based on the
diagram given below. A breadboard is needed along with a diode, an inductor
probes and BNC cable. The probes are connected to channel 1 and 2 on the
oscilloscope and the sinewave generator. It is then connected to the inductor and
diode.

Figure 1: Chaotic Oscillator circuit diagram

The sinewave generator is set with an output of around 180kHz with a peak-to-
peak voltage of around 200mV. The frequency is then reduced bit by bit so that
it is close to the resonance and obtain the value of amplitude as it increases
based on the oscilloscope as period doubling occurs. The bifurcation based on
the output waveform will then be recorded. The amplitude and waveform at
which the period doubles from 1 to 2, 2 to 4 and 4 to 8 is obtained. The
Feigenbaum number is also calculated.
Results
The maximum output peak to peak voltage obtained across the diode is 556mV
while the corresponding frequency is 233.3kHz. When the amplitude, A1 of the
input signal is increased to 1.258V, the first period doubling occurs. When the
amplitude, A2 is increased to 1.635V, the second period doubling occurs. When
the amplitude, A3 is increased to 1.760V, the third period doubling occurs. The
Feigenbaum number is then calculated by using the formula:
A 2− A 1 1.635 V −1.258 V
δ= = =3.016 V
A 3− A 2 1.760 V −1.635 V
The experiment was repeated for 2 more times and the amplitude for each
attempt was recorded.
For the second attempt, A1= 1.262V, A2= 1.643V, A3= 1.765V. The Feigenbaum
number for second attempt is calculated to be 3.123V. For the third attempt, A1=
1.260V, A2= 1.638V, A3= 1.770V. The Feigenbaum number for third attempt is
calculated to be 2.864V. The average value of all 3 Feigenbaum number is
calculated to be 3.001V. The theoretical value of the Feigenbaum number is
4.669V and percentage uncertainty is calculated by using the formula:
theoretical value−experimental value 4.669−3.001
×100 % = ×100 % = 35.72%
theoretical value 4.669

Period of the actual output waveform:

Period of the output waveform doubling from 1 to 2

Period of the output waveform doubling from 2 to 4

Period of the output waveform doubling from 4 to 8

Discussions
The frequency corresponding to the maximum output voltage is 233.3kHz while
the maximum peak to peak output voltage is 556mV. The average experimental
value of the Feigenbaum number obtained is 3.001V while the theoretical value
is 4.669V. The percentage uncertainty calculated is 35.72%. As the percentage
uncertainty exceeds 10%, it is proven that the results obtained is not constant
and has a lower accuracy.
There are several limitations to the experiment and there are also solutions to it.
As the output waveform on the oscilloscope was obtained, a sine wave is shown
instead of a square wave. In order to work out on the input voltages at which
output signal bifurcates which is that the period doubling occurs on the output
waveform, a square waveform is needed. This was solved by changing the
probes use to connect the oscillator on channel 2 and the sinewave generator.
Besides, there is also limitations in which that an accurate result for the peak-to-
peak voltage for each bifurcation were unable to be obtained as value shown on
the oscilloscope was not constant. The amplitude on each occurrence of period
doubling from 1 to 2, 2 to 4, 4 to 8 was also not constant as its bifurcation is
different in every attempt. Therefore, in order to obtain a higher accuracy result,
3 attempts of period doubling with different amplitude values were recorded.
The Feigenbaum number for each attempt is calculated along with the average
values to increase accuracy. However, it is proven to be inconsistent as the
percentage uncertainty is still too large.
References
1) Dr. Charles Tresser, Period Doubling: Local Period Doubling
Bifurcations in a nutshell. Vol. 9, No. 6. New York: Scholarpedia, 2014.
http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Period_doubling
2) Weisstein, Eric W. , Feigenbaum constant. 1st Ed. Wolfram Mathworld,
1999.
https://mathworld.wolfram.com/FeigenbaumConstant.html
3) Alun Vaughan, X3: Experimental design and practice. 2nd Ed. UK:
Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, 2013.
https://secure.ecs.soton.ac.uk/notes/ellabs/1/x3/x3.pdf
4) Vanderbilt University, Bifurcation diagram. 1st Ed. Nashville:
Vanderbilt.edu, University of Vanderbilt, 1873.
https://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/cogsci/chaos/workshop/BD.
html