Controlling Chaos with Simple Limiters

New experimental results demonstrate that chaos control can be accomplished using controllers that are very simple relative to the system being controlled. Chaotic dynamics in a driven pendulum and a double scroll circuit are controlled using an adjustable, passive limiter-a weight for the pendulum and a diode for the circuit. For both experiments, multiple unstable periodic orbits are selectively controlled using minimal perturbations. These physical examples suggest that chaos control can be practically applied to a much wider array of important problems than initially thought possible.