BEHAVIOR OF A FALLING PAPER

Behavior of a falling paper in a two-dimensional fluid is investigated by introducing a simple phenomenological model including the lift and friction terms. Five falling patterns are discovered with the increas e of friction coefficients: periodic rotation, chaotic rotation, chaot ic fluttering, periodic fluttering, and simple perpendicular fall. Irr egular motions of the fall are explained in terms of low-dimensional c haos.