I am trying to grasp if a butterfly flies in Japan the air waves can create a sonami(?) some where in the world because of it? I have also heard all things in some fashion relate to something else...except a snowflake. Is this true?

pljames

theoretically, its possible. chances of it happening, some humungously large number to the power of a humungously large number against it. it would require a cascade scenario where the butterfly triggers the potential energy to be released.

I am trying to grasp if a butterfly flies in Japan the air waves can create a sonami(?) some where in the world because of it?

I think the name is "Tsunami" : http://www.magicarsenal.com/productimages/178890.jpg

 

I have also heard all things in some fashion relate to something else...except a snowflake. Is this true?

Since you asked in the Relativity subforum you get a relativistic answer: There is a theoretical limit on what events can be related. Two events (an event is described by a position and a time; it doesn´t matter what the actual event is) that cannot be connected by a particle travelling from event A to event B with a speed of c or slower are not causally connected and cannot influence each other. If the events can be causally connected, then there is still a unique order: Assuming the particle travels from A to B, then A always happens before B. This means that A can influence B, but B cannot influence A. A is called the cause, B is called the effect.

theoretically, its possible. chances of it happening, some humungously large number to the power of a humungously large number against it. it would require a cascade scenario where the butterfly triggers the potential energy to be released.

 

Wouldn't large masses put a stop to that i.e a tsunami on earth will have no effect on the gravitational pull of the Sun...with chaos theory, shouldn't large masses be associated with cause. Chaos theory, relativity and now newtonian mechanics, sorry about that. I realise that a chain of events could stem from a small action, I just think there is a limit. You can only really apply it to small systems, which seems a bit meaningless with what chaos theory wants to imply.

Is there Time involved?

A butterfly flapping its wings last week causes a hurricane or whatever to happen or not hapen today, as chaos effect makes all sorts of stuff pan out difrently over time even if there is only the smallest of changes?

pljames is obviously not a scientist, no offence. umm if u posted on the relativity section becuase everything 'relates' in some way to another..umm ur kinda lost lol, but its alrite. Ok trying to grasp chaos..lets say you have one thing thats dependent on another. example of squaring numbers ok? say we start with 1. we square over and over and over, still one. say we had 1.1 though, after just 3 squares you get 2.14358881, thats only 3 times, or say, 3 flaps of a butterflys wing. that small difference in the start made a big difference in the end, becuz we use that value, get another, use that, get another, so even a small difference will be amplified over time.

 

However in such complicating systems such as weather, its practically impossible to take all such small things into account, one reason why my weather man said it would rain on my birthday...i canceled my party and it was pure sunshine...anyway i hope i got the point across