THE CHARGED BOUNCING BALL - AN EXPERIMENTAL-MODEL FOR PERIOD-DOUBLINGBIFURCATION

This paper presents an experimental and theoretical study of the dynam ics of a conducting ball in a poorly conducting liquid subjected to an electric field. When the applied voltage is constant the ball bounces regularly on the lower electrode. If an AC voltage is superimposed, w ith a period equal to the unperturbed time between impacts, the ball u ndergoes a period-doubling bifurcation when increasing the amplitude o f the AC signal. The non-linear map which describes the dynamics of th e ball is closely related to the standard map and to the classical pro blem of a bouncing ball on a moving table.