Chaos: A bridge from microscopic uncertainty to macroscopic randomness

It is traditionally believed that the macroscopic randomness has nothing to do with the micro-level uncertainty. Besides, the sensitive dependence on initial condition (SDIC) of Lorenz chaos has never been considered together with the so-called continuum-assumption of fluid (on which Lorenz equations are based), from physical and statistic viewpoints. A very fine numerical technique [6] with negligible truncation and round-off errors, called here the “clean numerical simulation” (CNS), is applied to investigate the propagation of the micro-level unavoidable uncertain fluctuation (caused by the continuum-assumption of fluid) of initial conditions for Lorenz equation with chaotic solutions. Our statistic analysis based on CNS computation of 10,000 samples shows that, due to the SDIC, the uncertainty of the micro-level statistic fluctuation of initial conditions transfers into the macroscopic randomness of chaos. This suggests that chaos might be a bridge from micro-level uncertainty to macroscopic randomness, and thus would be an origin of macroscopic randomness. We reveal in this article that, due to the SDIC of chaos and the inherent uncertainty of initial data, accurate long-term prediction of chaotic solution is not only impossible in mathematics but also has no physical meanings. This might provide us a new, different viewpoint to deepen and enrich our understandings about the SDIC of chaos.

► Due to chaos, micro-level uncertainty transfers into macroscopic randomness.
► A paradox about chaos is found in the frame of the continuum-assumption of fluid.
► A numerical method is proposed to simulate propagation of micro-level uncertainty.